The National Audit Office announced in a report today that the NHS spends nearly £700 on clinical negligence cover for every live birth in England. This is to insure against potential medical negligence claims, which have risen by 80% in the last five years, for a variety of reasons.
One concern is that resources are being stretched to breaking point, as the number of births has dramatically increased over the last decade, reaching nearly 7,000 live births. The report also indicated that there are ‘wide unexplained variations’ between hospital trusts, resulting in complications such as readmission, injuries and infections. More than half of maternity units are not meeting the standard recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
One of the most common types of claims to arise from clinical negligence involve cerebral palsy, when parents need to claim to fund the additional treatment and care they will require to look after their child as a result of being starved of oxygen during birth.
Margaret Hodge, Public Accounts Chairmen said that the Department of Health need to learn from the report and respond by improving maternity services: “The department needs to buck up and take responsibility for this. (It needs) to ensure that all relevant bodies can work effectively together to deliver maternity services that are value for money and fit for purpose”.
Read the source article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24856772
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