Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Accepted
Maternity and neonatal cases account for 65% of £69.3 billion clinical negligence liability.
Conclusion
NHS Resolution’s 2022–23 accounts include a liability of £69.3 billion to cover the potential costs of clinical negligence. Of this, £45 billion, some 65% of the £69.3 billion total, related to maternity and neonatal liabilities. The Department told us that this was not unusual across international comparators and reflected the severe and lifelong impact of such events on those affected.36 The cash payments made annually in relation to obstetric negligence cases by NHS Resolution are nonetheless equivalent to roughly a third of the total NHS spend on maternity services, which was £3 billion in 2021–22. In March 2023, NHS England published its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services.37 As part of this plan, NHS England told us that it had invested £180 million in 2023–24 supporting NHS providers to put additional staff in place, which it said had enabled 1,000 additional midwives and more than 100 additional obstetricians to be employed.38
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's findings and commits to prioritizing patient safety, writing to the new Committee by the end of 2024 to outline specific actions taken with NHS England and partners to reduce patient harm.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end of 2024 4.2 Multiple, complex and interrelated factors lead to patient harm during the provision of 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. 4.3 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. 4.4 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.