The Governments new initiative for helping victims of Health Service
blunders
October 2005 - The
Government have announced plans to introduce a new scheme aimed at
assisting victims of medical negligence in claiming compensation.
The initiative has been devised
to help reduce legal costs and make the process easier for genuine
claimants by giving them the option to settle a complaint without recourse
to litigation.
The plans are
outlined on the Department of Health official website:
"Under
the NHS Redress Bill published today, patients will no longer have to go
to court to get compensation, care, apologies and investigations if
something goes wrong with their NHS hospital treatment or care.
The NHS Redress Bill gives
the Secretary of State the power to establish an NHS Redress Scheme and
place a duty on providers and commissioners of hospital services to ensure
patients receive a more consistent, speedy and appropriate response to
clinical negligence. The scheme will cover low monetary value claims, with
the initial upper limit expected to be set at £20,000. It is designed to
offer patients a real alternative to litigation, avoiding the long delays
and legal costs typical of the current system."
Other key elements of the
NHS Redress Bill and Scheme include:
-
A more proactive approach to clinical negligence, with the onus no
longer on the patient to initiate a claim. All scheme members will
be required to review adverse incidents and trigger the scheme
themselves, where appropriate.
Visit the official site:
Dept of
Health
Contact us today by
email or phone
0800 0322210
for immediate legal advice on your
medical negligence compensation
