Victims of NHS negligence should not lose out because of under investment in patient safety and the NHS

Published: 2 Feb 2018

AvMA is shocked and disappointed by calls published in today’s (02 February 2018) Daily Telegraph for people whose lives have been ruined by NHS negligence to be denied the compensation they need and deserve, in order to ease the funding crisis in the NHS.

The proponents, which include the NHS Confederation and British Medical Association, are suggesting picking on some of the most vulnerable people in the country to foot the bill — people who placed their trust in the NHS but found themselves or their loved ones severely harmed or even killed through negligent treatment — rather than calling on the Government to invest in better patient safety to prevent the blunders happening in the first place, and funding the NHS properly.

AvMA chief executive Peter Walsh said:

“Most people who are passionate about the NHS want to see it properly funded. However, it is ignorant and uncaring to suggest that people who have been harmed or have lost loved ones as a result of NHS negligence should forfeit the compensation they need and deserve because the Government is not prepared to invest enough in patient safety or NHS services.

“Those proposing it should hang their heads in shame. They are not speaking on behalf of NHS staff who want to see the NHS properly funded so that it always provides the high quality, safe care that they aspire to. They are not speaking for the public or patients.

“Our society still values the NHS and also fairness for people who have been harmed through no fault of their own. If the NHS were to be given the funding it needs and if enough of it was spent on improving patient safety, there would not be a huge compensation bill in the first place.”