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Fixed payments plan for victims of NHS errorsBy: John Carvel Fixed-rate payments for victims
of medical negligence are to be proposed in a white paper later this year
as ministers struggle to contain the mounting legal costs of compensation
claims against the NHS. Alan Milburn, the health
secretary, will tomorrow announce proposals to speed up payments to
patients injured by medical blunders or accidents in NHS hospitals and GP
surgeries. Although patients will remain
free to litigate if they think the offered settlements are insufficient,
Mr Milburn believes most will prefer the speed and certainty of a fixed
tariff of payments appropriate to the injuries caused. They are expected to include
non-financial compensation such as daily nursing visits, as well as cash
awards. The Department of Health said it could not give examples of the
amounts at this stage. The plans were disclosed as Mr
Milburn prepared to publish the final report of an inquiry into the deaths
of babies undergoing heart surgery at Bristol royal infirmary between 1984
and 1995. Ian Kennedy, the inquiry
chairman, has delivered what is understood to be a hard-hitting report to
Mr Milburn and the document is due to be published later this month. The department denied any link
between the timing of its announcement on medical negligence compensation
and Professor Kennedy's report. But it was clear last night that ministers
were trying to do all they could to avoid stoking public disenchantment
with standards of medical care. They want to foster a "no
blame" culture in the NHS, encouraging doctors and nurses to admit
mistakes as a first step towards improving clinical practice. Pressure to improve the system
of clinical negligence compensation was increased in May by a national
audit office report that estimated that the cost of settling outstanding
claims could reach £3.9bn. Settlements cost about £400m a
year in compensation payments and legal fees. Ministers have been
concerned that in some cases the lawyers took a larger share of the
proceeds than the patients did. "We are trying to reform
clinical negligence so people don't feel they need to go to court. We are
looking for ways to stop costs spiralling out of control and at the same
time give people justice," a senior department source said. "We need to establish a
system in which medical staff feel able to point out when things go wrong
without fearing someone else's lawyer is looking over their
shoulder." There were no official
estimates last night of how much the reforms might save the NHS. The
source said: "If we are trying to get people to choose not to go to
court, we have to have a system that is perceived to be more generous than
the proceeds of litigation. "This is not about
restricting justice. It is about producing a more transparent system so we
can address systemic failures by changing the system instead of blaming
the doctors." The Bar Council said Mr Milburn
was proposing a cut in medical compensation similar to the reduced
criminal injuries compensation introduced by the last Tory government and
opposed by Labour. Ministers were trying to contain NHS costs behind a
smokescreen of blaming lawyers. The Patients Association
welcomed plans to speed up compensation and move away from a confrontation
culture in the NHS.
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