§ Dr. Jack CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many negligence claims have been made against the NHS in each of the last five years; what the cost was to the NHS from negligence claims over that period; what the average length of time was for a negligence case against the NHS to be settled; and how many inquiries have been set up following settlement of negligence claims against the NHS in those years. [53035]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 1 May 2002]: The Department does not hold figures for all negligence claims made against the NHS.
Overall figures for expenditure on clinical negligence, which have been taken from the national audited summarised accounts for health authorities, NHS trusts and NHS litigation authority (NHSLA), for each of the latest years are as follows:
£ million 1996–97 235 1997–98 144 1998–99 221 1999–2000 373 Figures prior to 1996–97 are not available because clinical negligence was not separately identified in the accounts prior to that date. Changes to accounting policies mean that these amounts are not directly comparable. Data for 2000–01 are not available owing to the transfer of the existing liability scheme to the NHSLA and the format of the accounts.