NHS Negligence Costs Quadruple to £60bn Amid Decades of Warnings

NHS Negligence Costs Quadruple to £60bn Amid Decades of Warnings

The government's liability for clinical negligence has surged dramatically, quadrupling in real terms since the 2006-07 financial year. This alarming trend has been highlighted in a new report, which underscores the severe financial and human toll of medical errors within the NHS.

Scathing Critique from MPs on Patient Safety Failures

In a scathing report published on Friday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has excoriated the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England for allowing the annual cost of clinical negligence to balloon to an estimated £3.6bn. The committee asserts that these bodies have failed to take any meaningful action to address the underlying issues, despite receiving warnings spanning over two decades.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the influential cross-party committee, expressed deep frustration, stating, "It feels impossible to accept that, despite two decades' worth of warnings, we still appear to be worlds away from government or the NHS engaging with the underlying causes of this issue." He pointed to an unacceptable stasis in maternity care as a prime example of inaction that continues to harm patients and drain taxpayer funds.

Maternity Care Scandals and Rising Liabilities

The report details how the government's liability for clinical negligence reached a record high of £60bn in the 2024-25 period, marking a fourfold increase over twenty years. This financial burden is diverting crucial resources away from frontline NHS care, exacerbating the strain on the health service.

Key findings from the PAC report include:

• Lawsuits involving brain-damaged babies can take up to 12 years to settle, prolonging suffering for families.
• Some patients are forced to pursue legal action because hospitals refuse to provide transparent explanations about errors in their care.
• The NHS is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of recommendations from various safety watchdogs and inquiries, hindering effective implementation.

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats' health spokesperson, condemned the situation, saying, "These mind-boggling clinical negligence costs are a horrific symptom of an NHS that has been neglected and mismanaged for too long." She criticised both the Conservatives for pushing the NHS to the brink and Labour for insufficient efforts to improve it, particularly highlighting the removal of ringfenced funding for maternity care as nonsensical.

Global Context and Calls for Reform

A separate global report on patient safety, published on Thursday, ranked the UK 21st out of 38 OECD countries. The study, conducted by experts at Imperial College London and Patient Safety Watch, noted poor scores for neonatal deaths and surgical complications in the UK, indicating broader systemic issues.

The PAC has echoed previous recommendations by urging the NHS to adopt a more open and compassionate approach. Key proposals include:

1. Being more transparent with patients and relatives when errors occur, and apologising sooner to reduce claims and costs.
2. Overhauling the confusing and unresponsive complaints system to foster trust and save money.

A DHSC spokesperson responded, "This government inherited an NHS that was failing too many people. We have taken rapid action to strengthen patient safety, including overhauling the Care Quality Commission, rolling out Martha's rule and Jess's rule, and introducing hospital league tables. We are also implementing new maternity safety measures and establishing a taskforce to restore confidence in NHS care." However, the spokesperson acknowledged that much more work is needed to ensure the NHS becomes the safest health system in the world.

The persistent failures in addressing clinical negligence, despite years of warnings, highlight a critical need for systemic reform to protect patients and stabilise NHS finances.