News Release

Reported costs of medical negligence in NHS hospitals are misleading

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

Current cost of medical negligence in NHS hospitals: analysis of claims database

Although the cost of legal action against the NHS more than doubled during the 1990s, it remains far lower than amounts reported in the media, according to a study in this week's BMJ.

A team led by Paul Fenn at the University of Nottingham, analysed all negligence claims within one health authority over a number of years, and used this to determine national trends. Adjusting for hospital activity, the rate of closed claims increased by about 7% per year during the 1990s - a substantial rate of growth, say the authors, but not the "uncontrolled explosion" often referred to by the media. They estimate the total annual cost of clinical negligence for the NHS in 1998 was £84 million, with 80 per cent of this incurred by NHS trusts. Although this figure does not include administrative costs, it is still well below figures quoted in the press, and represents about one quarter of 1% of annual NHS expenditure, add the authors.

Furthermore, the authors regard figures relating to outstanding claims - recently reported as £2.8 billion - as a "grossly misleading indicator" of the costs to be faced by the NHS. Many of these claims are unlikely to be paid or will not be paid for many years, they argue.

In conclusion, the authors recognise the importance of clinical negligence as a clear signal for improving treatment practices. However, they argue that such huge discrepancies circulating in the wider media illustrates the need to co-ordinate data sources to ensure that trends are accurately monitored.

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Contact:

Paul Fenn, Economist, University of Nottingham Business School, Nottingham NG7 2RD



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