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.”
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A University of Lincoln spokesperson said: “The number of positive cases confirmed amongst our students and staff is 61 (less than 0.5% of our University population).
“Our dedicated team of staff continue to deliver care packages to any students who require them.
“All students have access to a wide range of academic and professional services to support them and help them make the most of their time here.
“Residential wardens and Lincoln Students’ Union are running on-campus activities and events, where students can still meet up with friends virtually, keep fit and healthy, and develop new skills.”
Eight students at Bishop Grosseteste University are self-isolating due to a positive test result, which is down by nine from last week’s figure.
Five students and one member of staff are self-isolating with suspected symptoms and waiting to be tested or to receive at test result.
Also, 136 students and two members of staff are self-isolating as a precautionary measure because a close contact/member of their household has suspected symptoms or tested positive – see the full data here.
Meanwhile, Lincolnshire County Council said on Monday, November 23 that it was currently working with 127 schools and 10 nurseries with COVID-19 infections.
On Monday, there were 351 new coronavirus cases and 12 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire.
A 40-year-old man has gone missing in Skegness, with police saying they are extremely concerned for his welfare.
Bryan Brett was reported missing at around 5.30am on Sunday, November 22, after last being seen in the Holylake Drive area of the seaside town.
Bryan is white with grey hair and facial hair. He was last seen wearing a grey Superdry coat, with blue jeans and white Adidas trainers.
A black puffer jacket that he was also wearing has been found at the entrance to Skegness beach, next to the North Shore Hotel.
It is believed that Bryan may be in the Skegness or Ingoldmells area, but officers need the public’s help to track him down.
If you know where Bryan is or can help find him, contact police by calling 101 or emailing [email protected], remembering to quote incident 184 of November 23.
A primary school near Grantham has closed its site to all students for two weeks due to coronavirus.
Harlaxton Church of England Primary School currently has five cases of coronavirus, which led to “severe staff shortages” and resulted in the temporary closure that began on Monday, November 23.
The school will remain closed to students until December 7, with certain bubbles needing to self-isolate.
A statement from Executive Headteacher Mrs S Edwards said: “Over the last week we have closed four bubbles due to five positive test results. Although the three remaining bubbles are unaffected, this has led to severe staff shortages.
“Our first priority is the safety of the children in our care and although small schools can be extremely effective learning environments we also only have a small staff to draw upon.
“In order to preserve the integrity of the bubbles and to prevent any further spread, the decision was made to close the school for two weeks.
“I am very pleased that we were able to react very quickly to this, communicate and consult with Public Health England, contact parents over the weekend and support children with remote learning.
“The staff here, as in all schools, have worked tirelessly to make sure children continue to have the best education possible despite the current, exceptionally difficult, times.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and indeed the whole school community for their support and resolve”.
Whatsapp
