Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Paragraph: 101
It is clear to us that in its current form the clinical negligence process is...
Conclusion
It is clear to us that in its current form the clinical negligence process is failing to meet its objectives for both families and the healthcare system. Too often families are not provided with the appropriate, timely and compassionate support they deserve. For those delivering maternity care, the adversarial nature of litigation promotes a culture of blame instead of learning after a patient safety incident. Alternative approaches are already in place in other countries where the use of a threshold of ‘avoidability’ rather than ‘negligence’ to award compensation has helped to tackle the debilitating culture of blame, accelerate learning and provide timely support to patients and their families. We believe that adopting such an approach is an essential next step in shifting the culture in maternity services away from blame to one of learning.
Paragraph Reference:
101
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
81. We reject this recommendation. The Government does not intend to put in place a Rapid Redress and Resolution Scheme, as explained in the Department’s evidence to the Committee in February 2021. 82. The Department consulted on the Rapid Resolution and Redress scheme in 2017. The consultation proposed to offer a voluntary administrative alternative to tort-based redress for birth injuries, along with strengthened early support for families, and maternity investigations. 83. Following consultation, the Department decided against the introduction of the Rapid Resolution and Redress scheme, as several of the benefits it may have delivered had been achieved through other parallel initiatives, including NHS Resolution’s Early Notification scheme and HSIB’s independent maternity safety investigations. 84. The scheme also did not address the high and rising cost of clinical negligence cases.