In the wake of the Furness Maternity Ward investigation which found serious incidents resulting in multiple infant and mothers deaths, figures paid out in compensation for the trust as a whole have been described as “extremely worrying” according to sources from the BBC.
The Medical Defence Union (MDU) as a body who discretionally investigate cases on behalf of private practitioners has identified the Morecambe Bay trust and the North Cumbria University Hospital Trust in their figures.
The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust which manages the Furness Maternity Ward where the recent investigation took place had a figure of £17m paid out between 2011 and 2014. This is a stark increase on the figures between 2008 and 2011 where payouts were confirmed to be £9m.
These figures show that payouts have almost doubled in the same period of time.
A spokesman for the MDU has suggested that the figures may reflect a more national problem with claims on the rise by 10%, but a spokeswoman from North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust has stated that the figures are not an accurate reflection of the number of incidents taking place between the periods in question because payouts are often concluded some time after an incident.
We represent a lot of medical negligence victims in claims for personal injury compensation and some cases can last a number of years, but there are also instances where negligence hasn’t been identified until a number of years after the event. Both these factors mean the time between incidents and receiving payouts can be substantial.
Is there a real rise in claims, and is this a problem?
It’s important that the NHS and their staff provide the duty of care necessary to ensure patient safety. I’m sure you can all agree how appreciative we must always be of our NHS and the hard work and stress that a lot of staff endure to save our lives. I’ve had some wonderful experiences with the NHS where I genuinely felt cared for and I couldn’t praise the staff enough.
But when things go wrong, people end up seriously hurt, and they are entitled to claim for compensation. Improving standards and monitoring is the way forward to prevent incidents and we can see this kind of thinking taking place in many hospitals around the UK.
In the BBC report, Mary Aubrey as the director of governance at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has said “When things go wrong, it is important patients and their families are listened to, that we recognise their concerns, apologise for any suffering caused and act to prevent repeated mistakes.”
She went on to say “It is also right that people receive compensation and financial support when mistakes have had a serious effect on their lives.”
