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NHS Redress Bill
Government plans to introduce a new law will seriously impact upon the access to justice and entitlement to compensation for acts of medical negligence.
The NHS Redress Bill was discussed in the House of Lords on June 8 2006. The rationale behind the NHS Redress Bill was to simplify the procedure for people who had been the subject of negligent medical treatment to bring a claim for compensation and offer a more speedy resolution. However the reality of the NHS Redress Bill in its current format, is that for claims where the expected amount of compensation for the patient is under £20,000, they will be dealt with internally by the NHS. The NHS Litigation Authority would conduct the investigation of fact, finding of fault as to whether there had been any negligence and then if they deem appropriate, make an offer of compensation to the patient without admitting any liability.
Specialist medical negligence solicitor Clare Langford states, “The intentions of the Redress Bill to improve and quicken the current procedure are welcomed but it is need of serious reform. In its present format the NHS would be acting as investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury as to whether there had been an act of medical negligence and whether it is appropriate to pay a sum of compensation to the patient. This clearly represents a conflict of interest.”
Claims valued at under £20,000 according to the Department of Health represents 75% of all the claims brought for clinical negligence. The House of Lords had implemented measures to ensure that people would be entitled to legal and medical advice to assist and advise them through the claims procedure but in the last round of discussions on June 8 2006, these measures were deemed to be unnecessary and a waste of money by the House of Commons and removed.
The Governments proposals will mean that for the vast majority of patients who have been unfortunate enough to suffer negligent medical treatment, they will be denied the right to independent legal and medical advice. Medical negligence cases are complex and it is essential that there is a careful and comprehensive examination of the facts. It will lead to injustice if investigations are conducted without people having access to specialist advice to guide them through the procedure and represent their interests. This could mean serious miscarriages of justice and goes against the whole ethos of the English legal system which is based upon independence, impartiality and justice.
The NHS Redress Bill now returns to the House of Commons for further debate before it’s implementation.
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