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Will the NHS shake-up leave patients vulnerable to medical negligence?

Will the NHS shake-up leave patients vulnerable to medical negligence?

While the NHS budget may have been ‘ring fenced’ to protect it from the level of cuts facing other public services in the coalition’s plans to reduce the UK budget deficit, the service still remains under pressure. Though the healthcare budget was technically increased by around 0.1% above inflation each year, the NHS has been told that it must create £20billion in ‘efficiency savings’ by 2015.

Medical unions and other critics have warned that the 0.1% increase is not enough to counter the growing costs of caring for a rapidly aging population and the health consequences of unhealthy lifestyles, and is in real terms represents a budget cut of 1%.

Coupled with widespread reforms planned for the structure and administration of the NHS, many are concerned that patients will be more likely to suffer from medical negligence in a variety of forms.

GP control over NHS spending may lead to underfunding in some areas

One of the most radical elements of the shakeup is that ‘consortia’ of GPs are set to take over control of spending the NHS budget. They will take over from dedicated administrative managers working for Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities, which will be abolished.

This has led to concern over whether GPs have the necessary managerial experience to handle such large budgets. The legal profession is also concerned. Nicholas Jervis, managing director of claims specialists 1stClaims is one of them. “Certain areas of treatment and patient care may be grossly underfunded if GPs fail to recognise them as important,” he explains. “Such underfunding and the potential for mismanagement may in turn lead to an increasing level of medical negligence claims, putting patients at risk and further increasing the financial burden on the health service,” he adds.

Medical tourism may put hospitals and patients at risk

Another major change to the way the NHS works is that patients will be able to register for treatment at any GP practice in the country, regardless of where they live. Some GPs and others in the healthcare profession have warned that this kind of medical tourism could result in some practices being overwhelmed by an influx of patients, while others may struggle as patients move elsewhere.

The chief executive of the NHS, Sir David Nicholson, has warned that some hospitals will struggle in the face of budget pressures and reforms, and has said that some hospital trusts may need to merge with others to survive. This, he says may lead to healthcare services in some areas being reduced.

The risk of reform

The government has said that these and other reform measures are necessary to improve efficiency and update the healthcare service for the 21st Century. However the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that the pace of reform will present serious risks to patient care. The BMA is due to hold a Special Representative Meeting in mid March to debate the reforms. Some groups of GP’s meanwhile are planning ‘days of action’ in protest against the reforms, which they see as a threat to the NHS and the quality of patient care.

The Health Select Committee, a cross-party group of MP’s, has meanwhile claimed that operations are already being postponed or cancelled in some areas of the country as a result of cost-cutting measures.

Will reforms lead to medical negligence claims?

It remains to be seen whether the proposed reforms of the NHS will be a force for better or worse in terms of patient care. Nicholas Jervis believes that the potential exists for the number of medical negligence claims to rise. “If, as some healthcare experts have warned, quality of patient care does decline, then hospitals and GP practices may have to deal with a substantial rise in compensation claims for medical negligence,” he concludes.

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