Lewisham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust has paid over £4m in compensation since 2019 for A&E negligence claims, according to figures from Medical Negligence Assist.
More than a million residents of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley are supported by LGT, a local and acute care provider. LGT is located in South London and is in charge of University Hospital Lewisham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, and more than a dozen community locations in Lewisham.
But over the past five years, Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust has been the target of 49 claims relating to A&E negligence, 40 of which have been resolved. The trust has disbursed a total of £4,096,601 over that time, with the largest payment of £2,404,808 occurring in 2019–20.
“The growing rate of negligence in A&E services brings into sharp focus a deeply concerning trend within our National Health Service,”
said Sophie Cope, medical negligence solicitor for JF Law (which owns the Medical Negligence Assist brand).
The top three causes of A&E negligence claims in the UK were failure or delay in diagnosis, failure or delay in treatment, and failure to interpret x-rays.
“The most common reason for individuals pursuing this type of claim over the past five years has been a failed or delayed diagnosis, often caused by the A&E department’s failure to refer the patient for further investigations,”
Ms Cope said.
“Early intervention and accurate assessment are crucial in an emergency department [A&E] setting.”
A&E services have been overburdened in recent years for a number of reasons, but two primary ones are inadequate staffing and overcrowding in most hospitals across.
With thousands of patients having to wait up to three days and frequently spending a large portion of that time in hospital hallways, a sharp increase in patient wait times has also put additional strain on A&E services.
Thousands of lives might be lost nationwide, according to a warning from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
What are the key factors contributing to these claims?
The trust’s negligence claim rate (2.52) per 10,000 bed days is higher than the national average (1.37), suggesting a very high frequency of clinical events that result in claims.
Failures including inadequate patient examination, wrong diagnosis, delayed or improper therapy, symptom neglect, and inadequate follow-up care are frequently included in claims. These concerns can result in substantial injury or deterioration of patient situations.
Dysfunctional working relationships and procedural flaws in hospital departments, especially neonatal services, have been brought to light by reports and tribunal proceedings. These issues may have an indirect impact on patient safety and fuel claims.
In order to address these concerns, the trust has been focusing on safer staffing levels and improved training initiatives; some progress has been made in lowering nursing vacancies and enhancing workforce planning.