NHS spends £2.7 BILLION settling medical negligence claims in one year with 41% of the bill coming from maternity care failings, reports say
NHS spends £2.7BILLION on handling medical negligence claims in one year, with 41% of the bill coming from failed maternity care, reports say
- Shortcomings in maternity care accounted for a large part of the bill at 41 percent
The NHS spent a whopping £2.7bn on settling medical negligence claims for poor care last year – nearly 10 per cent more than the previous 12 months, figures show.
Shortfalls in maternity care accounted for a large share of the bill at 41 per cent – about £1.1 billion – versus 38 per cent.
A family, whose baby “suffered a massive brain injury” during birth, wants a seven-figure payout to cover the 24/7 care their child now needs.
Of the 10,062 new claims filed last year, 13 percent related specifically to birth. The other most common areas were emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery and general surgery, according to the NHS Resolution report.
The NHS spent a whopping £2.7bn on handling medical negligence claims for poor care last year – nearly 10 per cent more than the previous 12 months, figures show (File image)
The NHS paid £490.9 million to the plaintiff’s lawyers last year, with a further £158.8 million in their own legal fees. In some cases, the NHS paid nearly as much in legal fees as in damages.
Charities and advocates warned the numbers show maternity wards are ‘still not safe’. Dr. Kim Thomas, director of the Birth Trauma Association, which supports parents who have experienced traumatic births, said: ‘The same mistakes are made over and over again. There is a culture of covering up [and] guilt and failure to learn from mistakes. It’s incredibly distressing for families.’
Suzanne White, head of clinical negligence at Leigh Day, representing thousands of families, said: ‘It’s getting worse.
“There are midwives who say they’re worried about going to work because there aren’t enough.”
Maternity care breakdowns accounted for a large share of the bill at 41 per cent – around £1.1bn – versus 38 per cent (File image)
Last year it was revealed that more than 200 babies and nine mothers died due to poor care at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. And now 1,700 cases of damage are being investigated at the Nottingham University NHS Trust.
Paul Whiteing of Action against Medical Accidents, a patient safety charity, said: ‘Our Early Notification Scheme allows an earlier investigation into entitlement to reimbursement than has been possible in the past and to share learning quickly with the NHS.
“Our Maternity Incentive Scheme leverages expertise to promote the best standards of care so…we can prevent these incidents from happening again.”
Midwife blunder led to baby’s death
A baby died in his mother’s womb after a midwife missed signs that he had stopped growing.
The NHS Trust admitted liability, but parents Luke and Katie Hill still had to fight for compensation for three years. Their second child, Sebastian, died less than two weeks before he was due to be born in 2019 after the midwife mistracked his growth.
Hill, 35, from Birmingham, said a scan ‘would have seen him nowhere near the expanded weight’ and that he ‘would probably have given birth early and had a good chance of living’. Mr Hill, pictured, said the battle for compensation was ‘tough’ and added: ‘They made us jump through hoops.’
Dr. Fiona Reynolds of the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said the care provided was ‘well below’ expected standards and apologized for ‘these shortcomings’.