h***@anony.net
2014-12-15 20:44:38 UTC
Mad Tories determined to destroy the best and cheapest health
care system in the world , completely free for every patient. They
have maintained spending but spent so much on top down reorganisation
that results are now worse , so it is becoming more inefficent
://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/13/nhs-litigation-claims-double-under-coalition
NHS litigation claims double under coalition
The number of litigation claims made against the NHS in a year has
almost doubled under the coalition, prompting claims that the service
is failing to deal with growing demands on its limited resources.
The scale of the clinical negligence claims is unprecedented, with
11,945 cases reported by NHS trusts over the last financial year
compared with 6,562 in 2009-10.
Such are the costs of dealing with the legal actions that the NHS has
increased the amount of money it retains to deal with claims, up from
£8.7bn in the first year of the coalition government to £15.6bn in
2013-14 adding to the financial stresses within the service.
The analysis, based on figures published annually by the NHS
Litigation Authority, comes as NHS England revealed that 35,373
patients waited more than four hours for treatment in the first week
of December. That number was 66% higher than the same period last
year. Meanwhile 7,760 people were kept on a trolley for between four
and 12 hours before a ward bed was found up from 3,666.
Amid a barrage of criticism on Friday, Dame Barbara Hakin, the
national director of commissioning operations for NHS England, was
forced to admit in interviews that the NHS was under a huge amount of
pressure. We are seeing far more patients than we ever have before,
she said. The Department of Health has insisted that the NHS was well
prepared for winter and that an injection of £700m would pay for extra
nurses, doctors and beds this winter.
Labour said, however, that the figures on litigation should act as a
warning.
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, had previously admitted that a high
number of litigation claims was a good indicator of poor care in the
system. In a speech given at Birmingham Childrens Hospital in
October, Hunt said standards in safety and quality of care must
improve to reduce avoidable costs.
Shadow health minister Jamie Reed said: These figures provide
indisputable proof that the NHS is heading seriously downhill.
The vast majority of NHS staff now say David Camerons NHS
reorganisation has harmed patient care. The sad truth is that, by
turning the NHS upside down with a damaging reorganisation and causing
a crisis in A&E, this government has made care problems more likely,
not less.
It is forcing the NHS to set aside soaring amounts for negligence
claims money that is desperately needed on the front line.
It is believed that the rise of no win, no fee agreements has been
another factor pushing up the number of people suing the NHS.
A change to the law in April 2013 might have been responsible for a
rise in the number of claims in the period before the new law came in,
but it is also likely to reduce the number of claims in the future.
From April last year, the fee lawyers could charge was reduced from
100% to 25%.
The NHS Litigation Authority has also launched a new mediation service
to resolve any claims quickly and cost effectively.
Its latest annual accounts said that maternity claims represent the
highest value and third highest number of clinical negligence claims
reported to us. It added: The value of maternity claims can be very
high (sometimes more than £6m)
care system in the world , completely free for every patient. They
have maintained spending but spent so much on top down reorganisation
that results are now worse , so it is becoming more inefficent
://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/13/nhs-litigation-claims-double-under-coalition
NHS litigation claims double under coalition
The number of litigation claims made against the NHS in a year has
almost doubled under the coalition, prompting claims that the service
is failing to deal with growing demands on its limited resources.
The scale of the clinical negligence claims is unprecedented, with
11,945 cases reported by NHS trusts over the last financial year
compared with 6,562 in 2009-10.
Such are the costs of dealing with the legal actions that the NHS has
increased the amount of money it retains to deal with claims, up from
£8.7bn in the first year of the coalition government to £15.6bn in
2013-14 adding to the financial stresses within the service.
The analysis, based on figures published annually by the NHS
Litigation Authority, comes as NHS England revealed that 35,373
patients waited more than four hours for treatment in the first week
of December. That number was 66% higher than the same period last
year. Meanwhile 7,760 people were kept on a trolley for between four
and 12 hours before a ward bed was found up from 3,666.
Amid a barrage of criticism on Friday, Dame Barbara Hakin, the
national director of commissioning operations for NHS England, was
forced to admit in interviews that the NHS was under a huge amount of
pressure. We are seeing far more patients than we ever have before,
she said. The Department of Health has insisted that the NHS was well
prepared for winter and that an injection of £700m would pay for extra
nurses, doctors and beds this winter.
Labour said, however, that the figures on litigation should act as a
warning.
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, had previously admitted that a high
number of litigation claims was a good indicator of poor care in the
system. In a speech given at Birmingham Childrens Hospital in
October, Hunt said standards in safety and quality of care must
improve to reduce avoidable costs.
Shadow health minister Jamie Reed said: These figures provide
indisputable proof that the NHS is heading seriously downhill.
The vast majority of NHS staff now say David Camerons NHS
reorganisation has harmed patient care. The sad truth is that, by
turning the NHS upside down with a damaging reorganisation and causing
a crisis in A&E, this government has made care problems more likely,
not less.
It is forcing the NHS to set aside soaring amounts for negligence
claims money that is desperately needed on the front line.
It is believed that the rise of no win, no fee agreements has been
another factor pushing up the number of people suing the NHS.
A change to the law in April 2013 might have been responsible for a
rise in the number of claims in the period before the new law came in,
but it is also likely to reduce the number of claims in the future.
From April last year, the fee lawyers could charge was reduced from
100% to 25%.
The NHS Litigation Authority has also launched a new mediation service
to resolve any claims quickly and cost effectively.
Its latest annual accounts said that maternity claims represent the
highest value and third highest number of clinical negligence claims
reported to us. It added: The value of maternity claims can be very
high (sometimes more than £6m)