Bassetlaw: Hospital forks out millions to patients in medical negligence claims

Statistics published by NHS Litigation Authority, shows that from 2013-14, there were a total of 107 claims made my patients who have been treated at the hospital, which is a 16 per cent increase on the previous year.

Altogether the trust have paid out nearly £11 million to patients in the past year.

From 2012-13 there were 90 recorded cases of medical negligence made against the hospital.

However even though the numbers of cases made against the hospital has risen, the trust paid out £2 million less over the last two years. Between 2012-13 the hospital paid out nearly £13 million to patients.

The reductions come after a change in the way indemnity cover is priced. Organisations with less costly claims pay less as part of efforts to improve patient safety and cut claims.

Mike Pinkerton, chief executive at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals, said: “At Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals we work extremely hard to deliver high quality, safe health care, and the vast majority of the 700,000 patients we see each year receive that.”

“Regrettably there are some instances where things go wrong.”

“In such cases we strive to put measures in place to ensure a similar mistake does not happen again.”

“That is why we have Signed Up to Safety, part of a national campaign with a goal of reducing avoidable harm by 50% and saving 6000 lives across the NHS in England.”

Patients can make a medical negligence claim if something went wrong whilst being treated in hospital, which may have been caused by poor medical care and mistakes.

Elsewhere in the area Sheffield Teaching Hospitals paid out £5.9 million in damages and legal expenses from 2013-14 and Nottingham University Hospitals paid out £220,000 over the year, which is significantly lower that other hospitals in the region.

For more information about the figures, visit www.nhsla.com

If you have made a claim email [email protected].