East Lancashire Hospitals Trust rated ‘red’ for clinical negligence payments

THE increasing negligence payouts awarded against the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals have been flagged up by senior NHS officials as part of a probe into death rates.

Last week, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed how compensation payouts against East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) had almost doubled during the past three years to £10.5million.

And now, the national review team which is probing the trust’s mortality rates, has drawn attention to the figures in an initial report on the trust’s activities.

The report said ELHT was ‘red rated’ for its clinical negligence scheme payments, which are handled by the NHS Litigation Authority.

Every hospital trust pays an annual figure into a central pot, which is then used to settle claims where negligence is accepted, or proved.

The review team’s report added: “East Lancashire’s clinical negligence payments have exceeded contributions to the ‘risk sharing scheme’ over the last three years to a large degree.

“Payouts exceeded contributions by a total of £11million over this period.”

ELHT only contributed £7million to the scheme in 2011/12, when its damages payments totalled £10.5million (£13.6million including costs).

MPs and campaigners have raised concerns that the payouts were down to increasing negligence at the trust. But they have also blamed a growing compensation culture and lawyers seeking to profit from patients and their families.

Lynn Wissett, deputy chief executive at ELHT, last week declined to respond to the concerns, or to ‘speculate’ on the issue of solicitors.

She said the trust’s contribution to the central fund was dependant on a ‘risk management standard achievement’, for which ELHT has the ‘highest level of achievement’.

The review, led by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh, is set to publish a full report on the 14 ‘outlier’ trusts next month.

Source The Citizen