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New guidelines for doctors as misdiagnosed meningitis cases fuel more medical negligence claims

Figures released by the Medical Defence Union reveal that a total of 34 personal injury claims involving meningitis have been settled since 1998 - at a cost of £22 million. As a result of this staggering sum, doctors have been issued with new guidelines to help them diagnose this potentially fatal illness.

Meningitis is a dangerous disease that can kill in hours. It is an inflammation of the protective membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. Its most common symptoms are headaches, neck stiffness, fever, vomiting, an inability to tolerate light and loud noises. In small children a rash may also be present, indicating a bacterial strain of meningitis. Even if meningitis is not fatal, it can lead to a number of complications such as deafness, epilepsy and brain damage. Because it is such a virulent and fast-acting disease, early diagnosis is the best hope for anyone to stand a chance of survival. In the UK alone, around 2,000 people contract meningitis each year, while around 1.2 million people are infected globally, resulting in an estimated 135, 000 deaths per annum.

Mistakes being made

The Medical Defence Union’s figures show that the compensation awarded for medical negligence in cases of meningitis ranged from £7,000 to £6.8 million, according to the severity of the mistake and its consequences. The average compensation paid out was around £647,000, with several cases reaching into the millions. Of the 34 claimants, 22 were children, 13 of which were under the age of five. Dr. Karen Roberts, an MDU medico-legal adviser said, “Meningitis causes great concern for the public who read about or experience first-hand this devastating illness and for the doctors who diagnose and treat it”.

In discussing the new guidelines, Karen also went on to say that there are steps GPs can take to try to reduce the chances of missing a diagnosis. These include conducting and documenting full telephone assessments of patients, listening to their concerns and to those of parents and arranging reassessments where necessary.

However, questions are being raised as to whether these guidelines will be enough to spur medical staff into action. The charity, Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) has released a report that shows that NHS trusts have failed to act on the majority of the 57 alerts and recommendations it has made in the past five years.

Failure to comply

The AvMA was set up as an independent body designed to assess where most acts of medical negligence take place and to draw up plans to ensure that they do not happen again. However, through data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, AvMA has discovered that most NHS trusts are failing to comply with its alerts, putting patients’ lives at risk and increasing the potential for substantial pay-outs.

The Meningitis Trust welcomes the idea of new guidelines, saying, “We see first-hand the impact that meningitis can have on the individual, their family, friends and the community in which they live. And every day we hear how people's lives have been changed forever after contracting the disease, so anything that may prevent this suffering is supported by us.”

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