The NHS paid out a record £2.82 billion settling medical negligence claims in 2023-24, an increase of over £180 million from the previous year. But for another year running, more than eighty percent of claims were resolved without the need for costly and distressing court proceedings.
NHS Resolution, which is responsible for handling medical negligence claims against the NHS, released its annual report for April 2023 to March 2024.
In the 99-page report, it states that trends remained ‘broadly steady’ in terms of the number of claims received and resolved thanks to a continued collaborative approach to dispute resolution.
With a shared goal to minimise distress for the claimant and mitigate the risk of patient harm in the future, this less adversarial approach is much welcomed by medical negligence solicitors.
This comes as the NHS reaches the end of its three-year strategy to 2025: Advise, Resolve and Learn.
It’s strategic priorities have been to deliver resolution, share data and insights as a catalyst for improvements, collaborate to improve maternity outcomes, and invest in people and systems to transform the business
Here we look at some of the key statistics from the 2023-24 NHS Resolution report.
What are the NHS Resolution indemnity schemes?
NHS Resolution has seven clinical indemnity schemes and four non-clinical. For the purpose of this article, we’re focusing on the clinical schemes.
The largest scheme is the CNST for NHS trusts, i.e., secondary care settings such as hospitals. There are also separate schemes for GPs, coronavirus claims, the department of health and social care, and regional health authority. Some schemes relate to historic claims, i.e., before 1995 or 2019 (GP claims).
Funding for all clinical schemes was £ 2.92bn in 2023-24, the majority of which came from members. Around £261m came from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Decline in number of claims resolved
The total number of clinical claims resolved in 2023-24 saw a slight decline of 1.3 percent, down from 13,552 to 13,382.
Most claims settled without litigation
Four-fifths of claims (81%) were resolved without formal legal proceedings.
This saw over 10,800 patients and their families resolve their medical negligence claims via alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – the highest ever number.
The types of ADR used between both parties were:
- Resolution meetings
- Mediation
- Stock takes
- Early neutral evaluation
Of those clinical cases where formal proceedings were issued (2,499) only 29 went to trial.
Many people are cautious about making a medical negligence claim due to the worry of going to court. But as this report shows, the majority of cases are resolved without a medical negligence claim being heard in the courtroom.
Half of claims settled with compensation
Similar to last year, compensation was awarded in 7,260 cases, around half (52 percent) of all clinical claims settled.
While this is promising, ensuring patients get the financial justice they deserve, compensation is rarely the motivating factor for patients harmed by medical negligence. Most want an apology, to understand what went wrong, and prevent other patients going through the same ordeal.
Overall value of compensation increased
The amount of compensation paid out last year was £2.11bn. The previous year, this was £1.99bn.
This could be attributed to more claims being of higher value. There were 330 claims settled that resulted in compensation over £1 million. In comparison, there were almost 3,500 ‘low value’ claims that were awarded compensation of £25,000 or less.
The amount of compensation awarded for medical negligence claims varies from case to case and depends on factors such as the type and severity of the injury, recovery time, and how it affects quality of life and ability to work.
Obstetrics remains highest value area
Claims for obstetric errors accounted for almost two-thirds of the total compensation paid out. Of the £2.8bn paid out, 41 percent of this went on obstetric claims – almost £1.5 billion.
By number, obstetric claims only accounted for 12 percent of claims resolved. But due to the severity of the injuries, such as life-changing brain injuries in children harmed during childbirth, obstetric claims warrant substantial amounts of compensation to ensure the child has access to life-long care and assistance for their needs.
Number of claims received on the up
There was a slight increase (three percent) in the number of new clinical claims received, at 10,834 compared to 10,567 in 2022/23.
Claims against GPs increased by almost 10 percent
There were 2,382 claims received for the CNSGP indemnity scheme, which covers GP practices. This increased by 9.3 percent on the previous year, from 2,180. However, 2022-23 saw a huge increase of 45 percent.
NHS Resolution says this decrease is in line with what they would expect from a maturing scheme. The CNSGP scheme is for incidents since 2019. There is a separate scheme for those pre-2019.
Expenditure on GP schemes increased by £9 million to £149 million compared to a budget of £142m. NHS Resolution say this overspend is due to the relatively short time these schemes have been operating, making it difficult to establish firmer information to support forecasting
Top 10 medical areas for new clinical claims received (by percentage of total)
- Emergency medicine – 13.3%
- Obstetrics – 11.6%
- Orthopaedic surgery – 10.8%
- General surgery – 5.9%
- Gynaecology – 5.7%
- Radiology – 4.6%
- General medicine – 4.6%
- Mental health – 3.7%
- Gastroenterology – 3.1%
- Ophthalmology – 2.7%
Top 10 medical areas for new clinical claims received by value
- Obstetrics (non-early notification) - 36.7%
- Obstetrics (early notification) 20%
- Emergency medicine 7.1%
- Neonatology 4.2%
- Orthopaedic surgery 3.2%
- Paediatrics 3.1%
- Neurology 2.4%
- Neurosurgery 2%
- Radiology 2%
- Gynaecology 1.8%
Considering making a medical negligence claim?
The statistics in the latest NHS Resolution report demonstrate their commitment to reaching resolution in a swift and stress-free manner.
But it is normal to still have reservations about making a claim. You have already been through so much, and the thought of legal proceedings can be daunting.
However, here at Medical Solicitors, our team of expert lawyers can guide you through the process and support you with any of those worries and stresses.
As a law firm that only deals with medical negligence claims, we’ve built a team who are all experienced and knowledgeable in this specialist area of the law.
We can review your case to establish if you have likely suffered medical negligence and whether we consider you should pursue a claim for compensation. We also work with external medical experts and barristers who can shed light on whether a claim is likely to succeed.
Our team has a fantastic record of success, with most cases settling during the initial negotiation stage or out of court. But most of all, we’re proud of our exceptional standard of client care, backed up by a five-star rating on Feefo for client feedback.