Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Acknowledged
Set out by summer 2024, key reasons and actions to reduce clinical patient harm.
Recommendation
We are concerned that the Department is spending £2.6 billion on clinical negligence payments without an effective plan to minimise future costs of the scheme. Incidences of clinical negligence continue to result in significant cost to the taxpayer, particularly in maternity settings. The Department has made provisions in its accounts worth over £21 billion to cover the potential costs of known clinical negligence events, one of the largest financial liabilities across government. The Department made cash payments relating to clinical negligence arising from maternity and neonatal services worth £1.1 billion in 2022–23, equivalent to an eye-watering one third of the NHS’ total maternity and neonatal services budget. Each claim is a tragedy for the people involved. Yet the Department does not know whether the number of clinical negligence claims across the NHS as a whole are increasing or decreasing. The NHS does not benchmark well on clinical negligence compared to many similar health systems, and the Department and the NHS recognise that huge improvements need to be made. Recommendation 4: The Department must reduce clinical harm. By summer 2024, the Department should set out the key reasons for patient harm and the actions it will take to address these, ensuring that its plans will reduce health disparities, ensure better patient outcomes, and reduce the costs for taxpayers.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and has identified various factors contributing to patient harm. It commits to prioritising continuous patient safety improvement and will write to the Committee later in 2024 to detail the specific actions it is taking with NHS England and partners to reduce harm.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. healthcare. These include: • Organisational factors such as staffing levels, shift patterns and education and training provision; • task factors such as the complexity of medical interventions, processes and procedures; • technological and tools-related factors such as the availability of health information systems, equipment, medication and diagnostics; • environmental factors such as the physical estate, its layout and maintenance; • person-related patient-related factors including fatigue, familiarity, clinical knowledge and experience; • external factors including demand and financial pressures. Problems normally arise in systems due to the complex interplay of these factors. The department will prioritise the continuous improvement of patient safety so that the NHS treats people with the high-quality and safe care that they deserve. Repeated inquiries and investigations have highlighted significant issues with patient safety, and the department is clear in its ambition to restore public confidence. The department will write to the new Committee later in 2024 to set out the actions it is taking with NHS England and other system partners to reduce patient harm and advance patient safety in the NHS and improve outcomes for patients and the taxpayer.