MPs in call for action on patient safety to reduce clinical negligence costs

THE Government is spending billions of pounds every year on compensation for clinical negligence with “no effective plan” to bring these costs down, MPs have warned.

These events are a “burden to the public purse”, a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.

The watchdog also slammed “unacceptable” delays by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in publishing its accounts, and raised concerns over the lack of a clear plan for stockpiling the likes of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of another pandemic.

According to the report, DHSC set aside more than £21bn to cover clinical negligence in 2022/23, paying out more than £2.6bn to claimants.

Of the total, £1.1bn was paid in compensation for negligence in maternity and neonatal care, roughly a third of the total NHS spend on maternity services in 2021/22, the PAC said.

The watchdog warned DHSC “needs to urgently reduce clinical harm to ensure better patient outcomes and free up taxpayer money”.

The report said: “The cost of clinical negligence to the NHS in England relative to the population served is significantly higher than those of similar health and social care systems.”

It added that DHSC and NHS England “recognised that getting patient safety right and reducing the number of incidents leading to clinical negligence claims, is a big objective”.

Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the PAC, said: “The Government is spending billions on clinical negligence claims.

“An effective plan to reduce these costs would be an effective plan to reduce clinical harms, but such a plan does not yet exist.”

According to the PAC, Parliament expects DHSC’s financial accounts to be published before the summer recess each year, but this target has not been met since 2019.

The department has instead published its accounts in January each year, six months after the deadline.

The PAC said this “unacceptable” delay – driven by “fundamental failings in the financial controls” of the UK Health Security Agency and backlogs in local NHS audits – is “undermining parliamentary accountability for taxpayers’ money”.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.