NHS: Negligence

(asked on 23rd October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the number and value was of clinical negligence payments made by the NHS as a result of negligence committed by private healthcare providers in the latest period for which figures are available.


Answered by
Dan Poulter Portrait
Dan Poulter
This question was answered on 30th October 2014

The number and value of clinical negligence payments made by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) as a result of negligence incurred by independent sector providers that are members of one of the NHS LA schemes, up to the 31 March 2014 is detailed in the following table:

Number of Claims with Payments

Damages

Paid

Defence Costs

Paid

Claimant Costs

Paid

Total Paid

Private Sector

5

0

5,045

0

5,045

NHS Member

526

18,545,522

2,651,908

9,573,576

30,771,005

Department of Health

188

10,783,424

1,073,613

3,673,581

15,530,617

Total

719

29,328,945

3,730,565

13,247,157

46,306,667

Independent sector providers of NHS services have only been eligible to join the NHS LA’s clinical negligence scheme for trusts since April 2013. The likelihood of a claim being incurred, reported and settled in the same financial year is very low, hence the low values in the table, but private sectors members now contribute directly to the scheme for their own liabilities.

In April 2013 arrangements were put in place so that sub-contractors would be covered by the NHS member of the scheme. This was to make the system less complex.

Since April 2013, claims arising from the activities of independent sector providers have historically been funded by the NHS member organisations that have contracted with them.

An element of these claims has been inherited and funded by the Department as a result of the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities on 1 April 2013.

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