Royal Berkshire NHS Trust pays out more than £560,000 in gynaecology medical negligence claims, new investigation finds
A medical trust has paid out more than £560,000 in damages for gynaecology medical negligence claims in the past five years, a new investigation has found.
The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Berkshire Hospital and Townlands Memorial Hospital, has had 23 claims and incidents of gynaecology-related medical negligence reported to NHS Resolution since 2019, according to Medical Negligence Assist, a specialist service providing legal support to victims of medical errors.
Medical Negligence Assist said it has investigated the number of medical negligence claims lodged against NHS Trusts in the past five years.
And it can now reveal the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has settled 14 gynaecology negligence claims lodged against it since 2019, paying out damages amounting to £566,273.
Its investigation also uncovered the most common primary injuries and causes of claims, which included failure to act on abnormal test results, failed sterilisation and intraoperative problems, complications affecting patients during surgery.
Its data further revealed that 3,739 gynaecology medical negligence claims and incidents have been reported across the NHS since 2019.
Of those, it said 1,337 claims were made by or on behalf of women for ‘unnecessary pain’, as well as a further 740 for ‘additional or unnecessary operations.’
Since 2019, it said some 292 such claims have been settled, with damages amounting to £17.3m.
But the 272 claims settled by the NHS for failure and delays in gynaecology-related diagnosis have cost the health service £32.6m since 2019, it added.
In response to the findings, the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust said: “We’re committed to providing outstanding care to all our patients.
“We are a learning organisation and continue to improve gynaecological services and use any findings to deliver better outcomes and experiences for our patients.”
The findings come amid a new report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which revealed women are being left in ‘debilitating’ pain for years, with more than 760,0000 currently on waiting lists for appointments due to a gynaecology care ‘crisis.’
President of the RCOG Ranee Thakar said: “A way forward is urgently needed to tackle the UK gynaecology crisis.
“NHS staff are also deeply concerned and distressed that they do not have the necessary resources to deliver good care, affecting their own wellbeing.
“The UK Government must act now. The RCOG is calling on them to commit to long-term sustained funding to address the systemic issues driving waiting lists, alongside delivering an urgent support package for those currently on waiting lists.”
Visit https://www.medicalnegligenceassist.co.uk/medical-negligence-claims/gynaecology-negligence-claims to learn more about Medical Negligence Assist.
Medical Negligence Assist’s research is based on data obtained through Freedom of Information requests made to NHS Resolution.
