Government Health Reforms
– Will they work?
It is believed that for some reason or another if
a patient makes a legal claim and is awarded compensation from an NHS Trust
then that reduces the amount of money available to care for other patients in
that Hospital. This is actually completely untrue. The amount of money which
the Government has to spend to meet the healthcare needs of all patients in
the NHS is fixed under a legal obligation imposed on the Secretary of State
for Health. Not a penny of the money which is spent on compensation for medical
negligence claims comes from the money which is needed to meet the needs of
running the NHS.
Nevertheless, the Government is trying to introduce a reform to the Health Service
under which it would have the power to set a limit or cap to the amount of compensation
which can be awarded. Under this reform, patients claiming compensation of less
than £30,000 could choose to go through a Redress Scheme run by the NHS
itself rather than make a legal claim for compensation. Whilst anything that
simplifies the process and reduces cost is always a good thing, there are some
worrying aspects to the Government’s scheme. A Bill is at present going
through Parliament, known as the NHS Redress Bill.
The worrying aspects are:-
• If the whole process for controlling the award of compensation is in
the hands of the NHS itself, what form of independent advice will patients be
able to receive? At present, patients have the right to obtain Legal Aid and
to obtain their own independent medical opinion on past treatment and to obtain
independent legal advice. The new Bill allows claimants to receive free legal
advice but only to the extent that the Health Secretary considers appropriate.
• Who decides in the first place whether the compensation claim is worth
less than £30,000? Is this to be left simply to the NHS? A large element
of many compensation claims is the cost of long term care for people who suffer
permanent disability and the cost of remedial treatment and that is often the
very difficult element to calculate at the start of a case.
• Is all of this an attempt by the Government to limit the amount of damages
to patients who have suffered from medical accidents? The NHS Redress Bill itself
contains a provision for capping the amount of damages awarded. If the long
term aim is to cap damages then why should patient’s rights be limited
in this way when it is possible to sue any other professional such as an Accountant
or Solicitor without damages being capped?
• Another worry is how the Government actually intends to channel people
into its proposed Redress Scheme? Presumably anybody will still be entitled
to take legal action if they wish instead of going through the Redress Scheme.
However, it still needs to be confirmed that people will have a genuine choice
without being put under any pressure.
We foresee that the NHS Redress Scheme could end up very like the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Scheme. This Scheme was set up many years ago to award compensation
from Government Funds to victims of crime but ultimately the amounts awarded
have proved to be too low, have not kept pace with inflation and victims have
found increasing obstacles to getting compensation.
Claims for compensation are one way of bringing to attention faults and mistakes
in the Health Service which need to be corrected and therefore help the service
to be improved which in turn helps other people in the future.
New Commercial Property Specialist at
Foys
Joanne Baldwin who specialises in commercial property, dealing with landlord
and tenant and buying and selling commercial premises has joined Foys’
Doncaster office.
Joanne, who qualified in 2002 deals with all business clients ranging from owner-managed
businesses to multinational companies. She has represented clients from all
over South Yorkshire and also acts on behalf of banks dealing with commercial
lending.
Joanne is actively involved in business groups around the region and is the
President of JCI Doncaster (Junior Chamber International). Having lived in France
and Spain for a number of years, Joanne speaks fluent French and Spanish.
Stephen Paramore, Senior Partner at Foys says: “We are delighted that
Joanne has joined Foys, and that her commercial property expertise is now available
to Foys’ clients and all local businesses.”
Joanne can be contacted at Foys Solicitors on 01302 327136, or by e-mail at
joanne.baldwin@foys.co.uk.
Medical Negligence expert brings new
service to Foys
The Partners are delighted to announce that Nigel
Walshe has joined the firm to handle medical negligence matters. The firm holds
the Legal Services Commission Specialist Quality Mark for medical negligence.
Nigel, who qualified in 1978 is a specialist in the field of medical negligence.
He has carried out legally aided work for over 20 years, specialising in medical
negligence for the last 15 years. He has handled some very high profile cases,
including co-ordinating the group action of 100 people suing a Driffield dentist
for mistreatment. He is a member of the AVMA (Action Against Medical Accidents)
Referral Panel, and is also a member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury
Panel.
Nigel, who lives in Doncaster, has worked in Yorkshire for the whole of his
career and has campaigned over many years for the retention of legal aid for
medical negligence cases. He believes strongly in the importance of retaining
it for the future. He has appeared on TV, debating ethical issues relating to
the medical profession, and has written a book – The Concept of a Plural
Society – concerning ethical and political philosophy, which is due to
be published in February 2006.
Nigel said: “I am delighted to be joining Foys and look forward to continuing
my local work for victims of medical accidents. More and more it is important
to defend the right of patients to compensation, not merely as a question of
justice, but also as a means of identifying errors and thereby raising standards
in the NHS.”
Stephen Paramore, Senior Partner of Foys said “Nigel is a highly experienced
and well respected Solicitor in the region. We are delighted that he has brought
his medical negligence expertise to Foys.”
Nigel can be contacted at Foys Solicitors on 01302 327136, or by e-mail at nigelw@foys.co.uk.
