Govt says patients deserve compensation for medical negligence

Published on 9 Aug 2010 under category: legal

Compensation claims for negligence by the National Health Service have amounted to around £15 billion, according to official figures.
The NHS Litigation Authority's annual report revealed that the cost of paying out has rocketed from £11.9 billion two years ago.
This could mean that more patients are willing to come forward about slipping standards in healthcare.
Data reveals that there has been a ten per cent rise in the number of claims made to the authority, with around 6,652 submissions for compensation.
In addition to this, there was also an 11 per cent rise in the number of claims made between 2007/2008 and 2008/2009.
A spokeman from the Department of Healths said: "Patients deserve high quality healthcare from their NHS. The vast majority of the millions of people treated by the NHS every year experience good quality, safe and effective care.
"However, if patients do not receive the treatment they should and mistakes are made, it is right that they are compensated and have access to legal representation."

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