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I’ve just been listening to the 10 o’clock news tonight and it has been covering the report into Paterson, the breast surgeon who may have needlessly operated on thousands on women. One of the recommendations is that patient safety should be a ‘top priority’ across the NHS (again!!). Another interesting recommendation is that the NHS (and private healthcare providers) need to be better at sharing information about medical staff. Currently, medical staff seem to be able to be investigated in one hospital, and then move to another without any of their history following them. Maybe we need some sort of central system, like Doctify for employers? What do you think?

NHS Trusts have spent nearly £20 million in four years battling whistleblowers, defending claims of workplace discrimination and fighting employment disputes, the Sunday Telegraph can disclose. Data obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) has revealed that a minority of healthcare trusts, often advised by the same law firms, are repeatedly running up huge legal bills. Former health minister Sir Norman Lamb said some of the NHS employment cases he has witnessed in the last eighteen months involved ‘scandalous’ uses of public money. “It is not all NHS trusts in the country, but there are a small number where the culture is clearly wrong,” said Sir Norman. Commenting on the findings, Tim Farron, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, who has fought for whistleblowers in his own constituency, said: “Millions of pounds of tax payers’ money is being spent across our health service by NHS Trusts defending their actions in employment tribunals in cases of discrimination and unfair dismissal. It is only right that questions are being asked." Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 1 February 2020

The NHS in England faces paying out £4.3 billion in legal fees to settle outstanding claims of clinical negligence, the BBC has learned through a Freedom of Information request. Each year the NHS receives more than 10,000 new claims for compensation. The Department of Health has pledged to tackle "the unsustainable rise in the cost of clinical negligence". Estimates published last year put the total cost of outstanding compensation claims at £83 billion. NHS England's total budget in 2018-19 was £129 billion. The Association of Personal Injuries Lawyers (APIL) believes the cost is driven by failures in patient safety. Doctors represented by the Medical Defence Union (MDU), which supports doctors at risk of litigation, are calling for "a fundamental" reform of the current system. Suzanne White, from APIL, said people came to her on a daily basis with no intention of suing the NHS. But she said they often found it difficult to get answers from the medical authorities - and were left with no other option but to sue. "What they want to do is find out what went wrong, why they have received these injuries ... and to make sure it doesn't happen to other patients." Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 January 2020