Medical negligence claims over the last five years cost NHS trusts in Lincolnshire more than £91 million, data shows.
Figures from NHS Resolution, which handles claims on behalf of NHS trusts, and gathered by the BBC Shared Data Unit, showed £91,652,639.85 was paid by Lincolnshire Community Health Services (LCHS), Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) since 2012.
The majority of this overall cost came from ULHT, which paid out a total of £90,350,003.76 on medical negligence claims since 2012, making it the fifth highest payer in the country.
Between 2012 and 2017, LCHS spent £628,897.09 and LPFT spent £673,739.00.
Currently, there are four negligence scheme which cover medical negligence costs. These include:
Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) – which covers incidents that occurred after April 1995
Existing Liabilities Scheme (ELS) – which covers incidents that occurred before April 1995
Regional Health Authorities – which was abolished in 1996
Department of Health – which covers remaining clinical negligence liabilities
NHS Resolution figures only include CNST and ELS, which means the total amount paid in Lincolnshire could be more.
These figures have placed ULHT in the top 10 trusts for largest combined payouts for both pre-1995 and post-1995 claims in the country. These include:
Barts Health NHS Trust (£123,066,279.06)
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (£110,141,325.53)
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (£99,568,149.99)
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (£97,742,994.68)
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (£92,416,900.14)
Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (£90,812,609.52)
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (£90,350,003.76)
Oxford University Hospitals NHS (Foundation) Trust (£90,227,227.46)
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (£80,853,729.53)
Historic mistakes
Some £6,511,057.90 was spent by ULHT on historic claims post-1995 alone.
Of these claims, 100% linked to mistakes made in relation to maternity.
These figures have placed ULHT in the top five trusts for largest historical payouts in the country. These include:
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (£8,449,332.59)
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (£8,124,613.94)
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (£7,492,315.26)
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (£7,240,331.50)
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (£6,511,057.90)
As previously reported by The Lincolnite in 2013, over £10 million was paid to Aaron Crosby, then 9, from Lincoln, after he was left with severe brain damage during his birth.
Aaron Crosby
He won the settlement from ULHT of over £10 million after Rebecca Crosby attended Lincoln County Hospital when her contractions started, and the birth progressed normally.
However, she was later given a drug designed to stimulate contractions, but the doses were higher than NICE guidelines.
This led to Rebecca having uterine hyper stimulation, starving her unborn baby of oxygen. Staff also “lost contact” with the heart monitor, so failed to take steps to check the baby’s heart rate.
Aaron was left with brain damage, athetoid cerebal palsy and epilepsy. He is wheelchair bound, can’t talk and cannot use any of limbs, so requires 24-hour care.
Karen Brown, Director of Finance, Procurement and Corporate Affairs at ULHT said: “ULHT is one of the biggest trusts in the country, treating a large number of patients.
“There is a rising trend of compensation claims nationally and every NHS trust pays a contribution to an organisation called the NHS Resolution each year.
“This contribution is like an insurance premium, the quantity is calculated by the NHS Resolution and they settle all claims on behalf of ULHT.
“Therefore any funds paid out in litigation cases are not paid by ULHT. This is covered by the insurance premium paid each year to NHS Resolution.
“We aim to provide the best quality care to each and every one of our patients.
“Where mistakes may have occurred, the trust uses this as an opportunity to learn lessons and improve the quality of care for our patients.
“This has been reflected in a reduction in our premiums for 2018/2019.”
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It follows a collision between a motorbike and Ford Kruga in March where, sadly, the motorcyclist – a 52-year-old woman – was killed.
Louth Wolds Councillor Hugo Marfleet told councilors there was a “very bad camber” in the road through the village which “basically flips vehicles one way then the other”.
He said there had been numerous accidents along the road, including a number of lorries which had overturned spilling their produce.
“The village itself is constantly under pressure with speeding vehicles,” he said.
However, he added that residents also wanted more action and speed limits on the road from Burwell to Muckton, which he said was “very narrow”.
“If anything happens on that road, all the traffic gets diverted through there and people come off that a bit fast”.
He asked for new signage to be installed to try to warn people of the dangers.
Committee Chairman Councillor Ian Fleetwood was familiar with the road.
“It is fairly fast and there are one or two little surprises there,” he said.
Councillor Tom Ashton said he endorsed the comments around the south of the village needing more needed doing.
“Going from 60-30mph with such a short stretch before that junction – I genuinely don’t like speed limits that drop by 30mph in one go.”
He called for the area to be looked at again “with considerable urgency”.
A report before councillors said the limit had been in place for “many years” and would have resulted from a speed survey.
A new test measured the mean speed at 35mph, within 3mph of the level required to justify a 30mph speed limit.
The Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership has also requested an assessment of the A16 to the north of Burwell to see if a reduction from the national speed limit may be used there.
Lincoln Odeon staff reportedly ‘refused entry’ to a group of young people that came to watch the new Minions film dressed in suits – following an emerging TikTok trend.
The trend has seen many teens and adolescents arrive for screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru dressed in formal suit attire, uploading their experience to TikTok with #gentleminions.
Cinemas across the country have implemented bans for people coming to watch the film in suits, after accusations of audiences making noise and throwing bananas and other items while the movie is on.
The trend has generated millions of views in recent days, appearing to consist of standing ovations at the end, cheering during dramatic scenes and sitting in unison adopting the characteristic steepled fingers of the film’s main character – Felonious Gru.
Gareth Nichols contacted The Lincolnite to say that his 15-year-old son and a group of around 15-20 school friends were “refused entry” to Odeon on Brayford Wharf North in Lincoln on Saturday, July 2.
He said his son and friends turned up in suits, and described the decision to ban a group of teens “who have dressed up for an evening out at the cinema” as “ridiculous”.
“They had all pre-purchased tickets and were not there to cause trouble in any way. They were refused entry because of the way they were dressed; smartly.
“Clearly the good people of Lincoln need to be aware that they should not attend the Odeon cinema dressed smartly, because I assume the same policy will apply to all age groups – not just teenagers.”
Odeon staff did say that the boys would get their ticket prices refunded in 2-3 days, but the cinema has confirmed that access is restricted “in some circumstances”.
An Odeon spokesperson said: “Due to a small number of incidents in our cinemas over the weekend we have had to restrict access in some circumstances.”
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