Should The Government Continue To Indemnify Negligent Doctors?

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

Concerns have been raised by the British Medical Association about proposals which may be put in place to replace the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) with a private model.

One of the reasons mentioned for making such changes includes reducing the cost of medical litigation. The NHSLA pays out legal fees and compensation for medical negligence cases.

In 2001, £280m was paid out. Last year £1billion was paid out.  Why is this?  One of the main reasons is that the cost of claims has gone up.  The amount of compensation awarded has gone up. 

Children who have suffered brain damage as a result of cerebral palsy or because of some other medical mishap can be awarded up to £6m each. Some may be awarded more.  This is because the cost of providing a child with brain damage with what he or she needs has gone up drastically.  A child with brain damage often needs 24 hour care – this is costly and the costs of providing this care has gone up.  A claim for a child with brain damage can take an average of 5 – 6 years to complete.  To prove a claim requires hours of work and a plethora of medical experts.  The experts who will advise in a claim for a child with brain damage will vary in number and could be as many as 10 experts if not more.  These will include for example an obstetrician, a paediatric neurologist, a care expert, an accommodation expert, and a statistician to name but a few.  What this in turn means is that the costs of the medical experts as well as the legal costs over this time will be significant.

There are concerns that moving towards a privatised model would bring with it difficulties. In America for example where the private model is utilised, there are some doctors/health care professionals who refuse to carry out high risk jobs as the cost of insuring the operation is too high or insurance companies fail to pay out.

It is suggested that if this model is introduced in the UK, there is the possibility that life saving procedures could disappear from the health care service as the high risks involved in carrying out operations will force doctors to take out unaffordable medical insurance. Instead of privatising medical cover in the UK, suggestions have been made to pay compensation awards in instalments, so that when the patient dies, the compensation is stopped, thus saving costs.

It is thought that although replacing the current model used in the UK may have an impact on a cut in costs at present, there may be long term effects towards the public’s confidence in the government as well as medical professionals.   This remains to be seen.

It is however our view as solicitors who represent the public that maybe a model that incorporates the two could be the way forward. 

At present NHS doctors are covered entirely by the government if there is a claim for medical negligence.  If all doctors had to pay an annual ‘insurance’ contribution to the government’s scheme, then what impact would this have on the economy and on some clinician’s sense of accountability?