New patient compensation plan aimed at ending Scotland's NHS blame game

Sunday 19 August 2012

Patients will be able to get compensation payouts on a no-fault basis if they are injured as a result of medical treatment under plans being unveiled today.

Should things go wrong, patients may no longer have to prove negligence Photograph: Getty

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By Bridget Morris

The Scottish Government consultation on reforming NHS damages claims comes after a panel of independent experts, led by Professor Sheila McLean, a specialist in law and medical ethics, recommended a no-fault system be introduced in Scotland.

A number of nations, including Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and New Zealand, have this type of system, as do parts of the US.Introducing no-fault compensation would mean patients who have suffered injury, loss or damage as a result of their treatment could receive a payout without having to resort to court action.Patients would still need to prove that their treatment caused harm but would no longer need to prove negligence.The Public Health Minister, Michael Matheson, said: "The vast majority of the care delivered in our NHS is of the highest quality, but it is important that people who have suffered as a result of clinical mistakes should have some form of redress."It's in no-one's best interests to have that redress delayed because a compensation claim can take years to go through the courts, and nor is it in anyone's interests to have precious NHS resources spent on expensive legal fees."That is why we are considering the introduction of a no-fault compensation system."But he stressed ministers wanted to "seek wider views in order to help in our understanding of what the practical implications would be".He also said a no-fault compensation system could "help to ensure that, where issues do arise, health boards learn from them and can promptly implement changes as a result".Dr Brian Keighley, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland, said: "The past decade has seen an increase in the cost of clinical-negligence claims against the NHS."The BMA has been advocating a system that avoids the blame culture but still enables patients to make complaints and receive compensation."Keighley continued: "The BMA believes no-fault compensation offers a less adversarial system of resolving the process for compensating patients who have suffered loss, injury or damage as a result of healthcare treatment."A system of no-fault compensation with maximum financial limits would benefit both doctors and patients, speeding up the process and reducing the legal expenses incurred by the current system."More importantly, however, it would address the blame culture within the NHS which discourages doctors from reporting accidents and would end the practice of defensive medicine."Keighley stressed costs should not rise: "At a time when major savings are being demanded of the NHS, it is important that any new scheme does not significantly increase costs to the NHS and take money away from patient care."

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New patient compensation plan aimed at ending Scotland's NHS blame game

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