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Compensation Claims Costing the Scottish NHS Millions. |
Written by Danielle Fletcher
Saturday, 17 May 2008
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Recent figures have shown the Scottish NHS paid out a record 23million pounds in compensation for medical negligence claims, during 2006/2007. This was more than twice the amount of the previous year and up twenty million from ten years ago. But it is not only the amount of claims that have increased, but also the amount of money being awarded that have left the NHS in Scotland with such huge bills. In England big payouts have been occurring for some time. However high amounts still attract controversy such as the £5 million awarded to the actress Leslie Ash who contracting a superbug while being treated at Chelsea and Westminster hospital for a punctured lung and two cracked ribs. Her award was the same as what was paid out to all MRSA victims in hospitals during 2002, and amounted to the equivalent salaries of 250 intensive care nurses for a year. However the pain and suffering that Miss Ash endured, which left her paralysed from the waist down for some considerable time, was caused by negligence and failure of duty of care on behalf of the hospital and thus she had the right to be compensated. In Scotland the verdicts have yet to be this big, although many are concerned that a compensation culture is starting to emerge which will bleed hospital resources dry. Peter Walsh from the charity, Action Against Medical Accidents, has been quoted as saying that in Scotland there is still a huge difference in the amount of people who are eligible to make a claim and those who actually do. The record amount paid out in the past year, can be attributed to a small number of high value claims and there are still many people who have been the victim of medical negligence that haven't received a penny. For the most part this is because of the claims system in Scotland being difficult and hard to manage. In order to make a claim for medical negligence you have to prove that no other Doctor or nurse would have treated you in the same way and therefore attribute blame to that particular person. Singling out a medical professional and accusing them of making an error that no other person in that same profession would make is not an easy thing to do. Often it is not an individual's fault but rather a malfunction of the system as a whole which has resulted in a failure in duty of care. Policy Manager Liz MacDonald who works for the Scottish Consumer Council is fighting in favour of a ‘no fault' system for handling medical compensation claims. It is argued that this method of handling claims will make it easier for the system as a whole to admit when something has gone wrong, and to take the necessary steps to address it. Essentially making sure that safeguards are put into place to protect people while they are being treated is the most important thing. However when the finger is being pointed at you, you may be more inclined to hope the situation goes away rather than re-live the whole ordeal in detail. Often people just want an apology and the reassurance that the situation will not happen again and for those who do actually want compensation a no fault policy may just help that happen. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
About The Author:
Danielle is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.
Danielle is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.
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