Dozens chase hospital payouts over injuries

DOZENS of compensation claims have been lodged over injuries suffered at a Black Country hospital during the last five years.

Trips, falls and injuries caused by needles were among reasons people launched claims against the trust which runs Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital.

There were a total of 152 claims brought against Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) since 2016/17.

A new report said there was an increase in claims for injuries caused by needles last year.

Concerns were also raised about “disused needles being disposed of incorrectly, becoming a feature within waste bags”.

The trust said there were 12 complaints currently ongoing, mostly relating to trips or falls. It is not known how many of the claims were successful.

A total of 41 claims were brought against the trust in 2016/17, followed by 25 in 2017/18, 36 in 2018/19, 26 in 2019/20 and 24 last year.

Bosses said the fall in claims during 2020/21 was likely due to the pandemic but also said safety improvements had been made.

Overall claims are down from between 2010 and 2013 when the average was 72 each year.

RWT paid out £7.8 million in compensation for medical blunders in 2016/17.

Gwen Nuttall, chief operating officer at RWT, said: “Improvements in standards of health and safety have resulted in almost 50 per cent fewer personal injury claims in recent years, and we have made strong progress developing new risk management processes ahead of a season when we usually experience more trips and falls due to winter weather. But we remain committed to reducing injuries on our sites and have established a preventative maintenance programme which includes gritting our community bases and at New Cross, to reduce the risk of any incidents occurring on any of the trust sites. We are likewise taking action to reduce sharps injuries and have managed to cut the number of incidents by eight per cent in just six months, despite the ongoing pandemic.”