NHS blunders cost tax payer £150,000 per day

Figures show that the NHS is compensating two patients a week for lost limbs.

In the past 5 years, the NHS has paid out £189 million ta a total of 605 patients. These individuals have won legal cases against hospitals claiming that negligent care meant they had to have an amputation. The bill in the past five years has reached £276 million, costing the NHS more than £150,000 daily.

NHS Resolution statistics show that the average for the loss of an arm, foot, or leg was more than £300,000. There were also 314 successful claims averaging a compensation of £255,000, where patients said poor care had led to them losing their sight - resulting in a payout of £80 million. Another 162 averaged £40,000 per claim in compensation for cosmetic disfigurement - a total of £7 million.

One patient who had his leg amputated when Northwick Park Hospital in London failed to spot he had sepsis, received £2.35 million. Another patient who was blind in one eye lost sight in the other after appointments to check glaucoma were canceled. He received £2 million.

The NHS said a new framework would ensure “a significant shift in the way NHS responds to patient safety incidents”. President of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, John McQuater, said: “Compensation exists to help get injured patient’s lives back on track, and to meet their additional needs. It is never a windfall, nor a reward for being a victim of negligence.”