Millions are paid out in claims following serious mistakes in care at Blackpool's NHS trust

Data from NHS Resolution, which handles such cases on behalf of the NHS, reveals 91 clinical negligence claims against Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were successful in 2019/20.

The total damages bill paid out in relation to the claims was £10.5 million, while further legal costs totalled £1.1 million.

Successful claims against the trust were up 49 per cent compared to the 61 reported in 2018/19 – although the cost was higher that year at £18.9 million. Someone can bring a claim against an NHS trust if it is believed they, or a family member, suffered harm or died due to negligent treatment.

The Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, administered by NHS Resolution, handles all negligence claims against members for incidents which happened after April 1, 1995. This means claims could be settled for harm which occurred years before.

Overall, NHS Resolution was notified of 85 formal negligence claims against Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust last year.

Of those, five were related to obstetrics – care provided during pregnancy and childbirth.

Ian Dilks, chairman of NHS Resolution, said the price of negligence across the NHS remains “the elephant in the room” despite the overall cost of harm for clinical negligence falling to £8.3 billion nationally, down from £9 billion in 2018/19.

He said: “We continue to play our part in reducing the cost of claims through actions to improve both patient safety and the way incidents and complaints are handled.”

He also called for legal reform that he said could “significantly reduce the cost to the public purse at no detriment to justice”, he added.

A spokesman for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We aim to provide the best quality care to each and every one of our patients and we work very hard to ensure incidents are as rare as they possibly can be.”

The “vast majority” of the 108,249 day cases and inpatients, 406,896 outpatients and 75,214 A&E attendances treated last year received “harm-free care”, he added.

from our dedicated staff.

“Where mistakes may have occurred, the Trust uses this as an opportunity to learn lessons and improve the quality of care for our patients.

“We work very closely with the NHS Resolution to deal with cases as quickly as we can, in a timely and appropriate manner.”