Conclusion 2

Clinical negligence cannot and does not inform or disseminate learning or systematically contribute to patient safety improvements. It is not its purpose and too much information is filtered out at an early stage to ever make this a realistic prospect. Demonstrating individual fault is fundamental if compensation is to be awarded, but this is not a process consistent with contemporary safety-focused investigations. Whilst there is a strong case for improving the techniques used to investigate mistakes made in the NHS these techniques would not align with the evidence gathering process for a successful clinical negligence claim.