‘Time and time again, the same mistakes are made’
CEREBRAL PALSY CASES HAVE COST HOSPITALS TRUST £72M IN CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS OVER 10 YEARS
NOTTINGHAM hospitals have paid out £72 million over the last 10 years due to mistakes that have caused cerebral palsy.
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), the NHS trust which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, forked out the sum across 21 clinical negligence claims since the 2010/2011 financial year – averaging at £3.4 million per case.
The statistics were revealed by NHS Resolution after a Freedom of Information request was submitted by Lime Solicitors.
The specialist clinical negligence law firm said that “time and time again, the same mistakes are made”.
“Negligent injuries resulting in cerebral palsy should not take place and we know the lessons that should have been learned, but unfortunately time and time again, the same mistakes are made,” said Robert Rose, head of clinical negligence at the firm. “Regrettably, I have seen many of these mistakes before and we will look to obtain the appropriate expert evidence to guide the family through the complex legal process as arrangements are put in place to assist their child.”
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects movement, co-ordination and speech and is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to a developing brain.
While £72 million in damages and a further £9 million in legal fees was paid out between 2010/11 and 2020/21, NUH says that the “overwhelming majority” relate to incidents more than 10 years ago.
A spokesperson for the trust, which sees around 10,000 babies delivered at its hospitals every year, said: “We recognise that each of these cases is a tragedy and are committed to learning from every incident to improve our services and prevent avoidable harm to patients.”
The NHS data revealed that nationally, almost one in 12 cerebral palsy cases could have been avoided over the past decade, with trusts across the country paying out a total of £4.3 billion in damages.