NHS compensation fund receives £200m boost
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012The NHS Litigation Authority, which handles compensation claims made against the NHS, has been given a further £200m to top up the compensation pot, amid fears the money would run out.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has made £185m available to handle compensation payouts for medical negligence by staff working for the NHS.
Figures and analysis showed that if all current cases were lost, the NHS would face paying out £16.85 billion in compensation, which is a significant increase on the £5.31 billion in 2001.
According to the Times newspaper, clinical negligence claims have risen to 8,655 from 5,697 over the last five years.
Lord Howe, Health Minister said: “Following a review of claims, we have made additional funds available to the NHS Litigation Authority in order to make sure that those claimants who are entitled to compensation receive it in a timely way. We want to strike the right balance between access to compensation claims and ensuring that costs are proportionate, sustainable and affordable.”
Currently, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is before the Lords. The bill is supported by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Department of Health. Under the proposals, the success fee which is currently paid to solicitors by the losing party would be taken from the damages awarded to the claimant.
There would also be an increase in general damages paid to claimants of around 10% as well as a mechanism to prevent personal injury claimants that lose a case from paying the winning defendant’s court costs.