The UK’s National Health Service has been making news headlines since its ground-breaking inception in 1948, but articles once overflowing with positivity and promise are now full of failings and uncertainty. Reduced staff numbers that are continuing to fall are putting pressure onto each aspect of the organisation, resulting in increased wait times and poorer working conditions for doctors and caregivers that is contributing to a rise in cases of medical negligence. In fact, the NHS spends over £2 billion each year on compensation in the current climate, a huge jump from the £900 million per annum of ten years ago which clearly reflects that this is an organization in crisis.

The nature of working in an industry involved in physical healthcare invites occasional error, but it is clear that this margin is increasing and also leading to more serious negligence cases. These are some of the most common reasons for a medical negligence claim that healthcare professionals should be particularly aware of, in order to avoid patient harm and dissatisfaction.

Misdiagnosis

Medical professionals are extremely well-educated and often well-practiced, but obviously they are not omniscient and errors in diagnosis can sometimes occur. When conditions are missed or diagnosed as something else, there is the potential for symptoms to worsen and for treatable illness to become life-threatening. One of the most common misdiagnosed conditions is cancer which can often be slow to present itself and has symptoms similar to other less serious conditions.

Surgical Error

Surgery is one of the most precise and difficult aspects of medical care and even the most experienced surgeon can make mistakes, whether an error of judgement during the procedure or a complete accident e.g., leaving foreign objects in the body. Administering anaesthetic is a particularly difficult skill, and sometimes patients are given too much or too little. Mistakes can also be made due to a lack of communication, such as the surgeon operating on the wrong body part or a patient not having a full understanding of the risks and requirements relating to the procedure.

Errors during surgery can often be repaired with another operation, but sometimes the effects are permanent. This includes scarring or disfigurement or nerve damage to an organ(s). If not permanent, they can still be extremely serious, such as infection setting in due to poor hygiene. There can also be neglect in the aftercare following surgery, with one of the most common medical negligence claims relating to pressure sores that are the result of lying in one position for too long.

Birth Injuries

Lastly, medical negligence claims are commonly themed around pregnancy and problems during childbirth. Even straightforward births can prove complicated in the moment, and failings of midwives or gynaecologists during the pregnancy can lead to physical harm to the mother and child. There is also the potential for huge emotional suffering too as the consequence of this type of negligence, for example with misdiagnosed miscarriages and unexpected stillbirths.