NHS compensation payouts for injuries and misdiagnosis double in five years

Figures may be tip of the iceberg, charities warn

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NHS compensation payouts for delayed diagnosis, accidental harm or deaths have doubled in the past five years - topping £655m.

In 2013-14, £327m was administered for treatment delays, failures and misdiagnosis, in 1,406 cases.

There were 1,789 cases in 2017-18, meaning the number of cases where damages were paid has increased, but at a slower rate to the spiralling costs.

Among these cases were 1,100 patients who suffered a delay or failure in treatment and 679 who were misdiagnosed or suffered a delay in being diagnosed.

The figures were provided by NHS Resolution, the health service litigation authority.

Peter Walsh, the chief executive of charity Action against Medical Accidents, told The Daily Telegraph that the figures were probably only the tip of the iceberg because patients and families could be unaware that any harm could have been prevented by earlier diagnosis or treatment.

He added: “These figures are extremely worrying and show that patients are suffering and even dying.”

NHS England data shows that over the last five years, the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for operations or treatment rose from 182,046 to 562,981.

Royal College of Surgeons president Professor Derek Alderson said the rise was “very concerning”, adding that an urgent plan was needed to tackle the backlog of patients.

“This steep increase in the number of patients awarded damages because of delays in their treatment or misdiagnosis is very concerning," he said. “We urgently need a plan to tackle the increasing backlog of patients on the elective waiting list, including a commitment to increase hospital bed capacity.

“Patients should not be left languishing in pain on lengthening waiting lists, they deserve better.”

The NHS has been struggling with years of underfunding that have seen waiting times at GPs, A&E departments and for cancer fall well behind targets.

Ministers have already warned that spiralling payouts could “bankrupt the NHS” with the bill for future liabilities topping £65bn.

An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS cares for millions of patients every year and incidents like these are thankfully extremely rare. In fact millions more people are now being treated within the fast waiting times the NHS provides, with the availability of quick cancer check-ups doubling from one million patients to over two million patients a year over the past decade.

“That helps explain why NHS cancer survival is now the highest it’s ever been, and independent research has just confirmed that thanks to improvements over the past five years breast cancer mortality in this country is now better than in France, Germany or the European average.”

Additional reporting by Press Association