NHS Resolution welcomes National Audit Office study

NHS Resolution has welcomed the publication of the NAO study, ’Managing the costs of clinical negligence in trusts’.

The study finds that NHS Resolution has taken action to control costs and has achieved significant savings for the tax payer from contesting excessive claims and legal charges.

The study finds that some of the biggest factors influencing costs fall within the remit of more than one government department or are outside the health system’s control, including developments in the legal market and the increasing level of damages awarded for high value claims.

The study also says that NHS Resolution and the Department of Health, working with others, have identified many of the factors contributing to the rising costs of clinical negligence.

NAO sets out the plans that NHS Resolution has in place to take further actions to tackle cost increases and highlights the publication of its five-year strategy in April 2017 which strengthens its ambition on safety and learning and in engaging with NHS trusts in the management of claims.

It concludes with a recommendation for a government strategy on the cost of clinical negligence for trusts which identifies the balance to be struck between providing patients with access to justice and access to health services.

Helen Vernon, NHS Resolution chief executive, said: “We welcome the valuable insights that the National Audit Office has brought to the challenge of escalating clinical negligence costs.

“NAO found that NHS Resolution has taken effective action, not only to identify the drivers of claims costs, but also to tackle those within our control. The study identifies areas where significant savings have been made as a result, such as in challenging excessive claimant legal costs and highlights the tight control maintained over the cost of our own lawyers and claims operations.

“We will continue to work with government and our partners in the civil justice system to tackle the main drivers of claims costs.

“In delivering our five-year strategy, launched in April 2017, we will drive forward actions which address NAO’s recommendations, including increasing our analysis of what goes wrong in healthcare, so that we can target our support in the right areas. This will build upon our work to encourage transparency and candour when something goes wrong, so that healthcare staff and those they care for can put legal process to one side and focus on doing what is right for the patient.”