NEGLIGENT DOCTORS COULD BE FORCED TO APOLOGISE

NHS doctors, who cause harm to patients due to medical negligence, may be forced to apologise if new Government proposals are brought into force.

The proposals, which are reportedly under discussion in Whitehall, suggest that health care bosses would have to adhere to a "duty of candour" meaning that apologies for errors would have to be made by law.

According to reports in "The Guardian" support for the proposals has come from civil servants and public health officers who believe that a "culture of openness and transparency is vital".

The Health Select Committee recently found that whilst the majority of NHS patients receive effective treatment, others had been harmed, sometimes seriously, and that some tens of thousands of patients suffer unnecessary harm each year. The result is a huge cost to the NHS which in 2008 amounted to £807 million.

Commenting on these findings, Stephen Green, Head of Personal Injury and Professional Negligence at Fosters commented:

"Clinical negligence lawyers have known for years that many patients become frustrated at the wall of silence that they meet if they try to raise their concerns directly with a doctor or hospital. Many of our clients do not come to us primarily for compensation but to seek an apology from their treating Consultant, an explanation as to what went wrong, and an assurance that nobody else will experience the same problems they have. Unfortunately, under the current system, they rarely, if ever, receive an apology and it is at that point that clients decide out of sheer frustration to pursue a claim for compensation."

If you have been the victim of a medical accident, contact:

Heather Duffy, Jackie Lake, or Stephen Green in our Personal Injury and Professional Negligence Department on Freephone 0800 214072