Health Professions: Civil Proceedings
(asked on 27th June 2017) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs and doctors have been sued by patients in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of settlements relating to those cases.
The Department does not hold the information on general practitioner (GP) clinical negligence litigation claims brought against GPs. GPs mainly buy their indemnity cover from one of the three private not-for-profit Medical Defence Organisations. They offer indemnity cover to all doctors for any private work, good Samaritan acts, and for representation for professional regulatory issues. They also provide clinical negligence cover relating to National Health Service work.
Indemnity for clinical negligence claims brought against employed GPs, doctors and all NHS staff in England is provided by the employer organisation. All NHS providers of care are members of NHS Resolution’s (NHSR) Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) and claims for compensation will ordinarily be brought against the NHS care provider organisation. The data provided below contains information on payments made in year under NHSR CNST scheme over the past five years.
Type | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
| £000 | £000 | £000 | £000 | £000 |
Compensation | £775,159 | £783,967 | £729,237 | £671,564 | £862,841 |
Claimant legal Costs | £254,784 | £261,262 | £236,938 | £274,539 | £399,902 |
Defence legal Costs | £65,359 | £72,425 | £84,997 | £98,251 | £115,519 |
Further information regarding payments for compensation and legal costs made against individual NHS care provider organisations over the last five years can also be found on NHS Resolution’s website at: