Nearly 5,000 negligence claims made against NHS Scotland

Nearly 5,000 medical negligence claims have been made against the NHS in Scotland over the past five years.

Figures released to the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee, which is examining the cost of civil litigation, revealed 4,959 claims have been lodged since September 2012.

A total of 3,000 of these relate to clinical procedures, while the remainder concern mental health treatment.

However, the number of claims lodged each year is falling.

There were 863 claims lodged between September 2016 and August this year, down from a peak of 1,180 in 2013-14.

In Tayside there have been 228 claims lodged over the past five year.

The number of claims lodged per year peaked at 61 in 2015-16 but fell to just 33 in 2016-17.

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “NHS Tayside is committed to delivering safe, high-quality patient care and our healthcare professionals are constantly striving to ensure that risks are kept to a minimum.”

There have been 124 claims against NHS Fife in the past five years, including 39 in 2016-17.

The committee is scrutinising the Civil Litigation Bill, which aims to improve access to justice in the civil courts by making the costs associated with suing an organisation or person for personal injury more affordable and predictable.