Medical Negligence In Maternity Care Reaches Worrying Levels
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Errors that cause serious harm to mothers and babies accounted for nearly half of the £2.1billion paid out in medical negligence claims since 1995, according to reports in The Times newspaper. A total of £947million alone was paid on compensating victims of medical negligence that resulted in brain damage, cerebral palsy or developmental delay - a frightening statistic by any standards.
The cost of these claims, which is easily enough to pay for thousands of midwives, reveals the burden placed on the health service at a time when people are clamouring for more to be spent on patient care. So are medical negligenced claims sucking the NHS funds dry, or is it justified?
Specialist solicitors dealing in such claims think that the latter is true. Without the lever of litigation, many of these cases would go undetected or even hidden from the public gaze. By bringing the shortfalls in maternity care into sharp relief, improvements can and are being made. So despite the initial cost, the ends really do justify the means.
Taking into account the backlog of cases from the 1990’s, the cost of maternity-related claims rose from £163million in 2003-04 to £228million in 2007-08. The figures were revealed by the NHS Litigation Authority in response to questions in Parliament. The figures reflect the cost of settled claims awarded under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, but do not include cases that preceded the Authority’s creation in 1995, some of which have come as a result of health problems diagnosed years after birth. The trickledown effect of medical negligence cases can continue for years after the initial event. This in itself creates its own series of problems, with staff involved in the initial case retiring, moving to other hospitals or, in extreme cases, medical notes being lost or destroyed.
Louise Silverton, the deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said that the cost of claims “underlines what a false economy it is to cut back on maternity care”. Overall NHS spending on maternity care in England was cut by £55million in 2006-07, while the birth rate has risen by 16% since 2001, according to RCM figures. This cutting back of costs means that midwives and consultants are overstretched, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to negligence claims.
Specialist solicitors see the situation as untenable, and something that needs addressing urgently. As a result of an overstretched system, more cases of medical negligence are piling up year on year, putting ever more strain on an already creaking system. But by bringing claims for maternity medical negligence, the firms believe that they are highlighting weak areas within the system.
Medical negligence is an extremely complicated field, requiring not only a team of highly trained solicitors, but the services of medical expert witnesses as well. By combining forces with the victim, the claim can not only ease the suffering of the party directly affected by the incident, but also prevent it from happening again. It’s not just a matter of money - it’s a matter of ethics. By standing up to a system that freely admits it has faults, a victim of medical negligence can ensure that they are compensated for their suffering and pave the way for changes that will protect future patients.
At a time when women are at their most vulnerable and the lives of children are at stake, the rising levels of medical negligence claims in maternity care are shining a spotlight on a system that needs to respond to the inadequacies of care highlighted by such claims.
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