Hospital Trust apologises for surgery errors after investigation reveals £7.5m paid out in compensation claims

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WARRINGTON and Halton NHS Trust has apologised for surgery errors after an investigation by medical negligence lawyers revealed more than £7.5m had been paid out in compensation since 2019.

Figures obtained by Medical Negligence Assist found that, since 2019, Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has had to pay out over £7.5m to patients who have lodged claims following a surgery error.
When an error occurs during surgery, patients can be left in unnecessary pain, giving them the option to lodge a claim, and NHS trusts across the country have had to pay out millions over the past few years.

Medical negligence solicitor for JF Law, Gareth Lloyd, said: “The chances of a patient suffering a surgical error are remote, yet every operation carries with it a number of risks, and if something goes wrong, there can be lifelong consequences.”
Surgical errors are unexpected mistakes or accidents that occur during procedures and they are classed as ‘never events’ as they are errors that should not have happened in surgery.
These errors can have significant physical, emotional and financial consequences for patients as they may require additional treatment and suffer even more pain.
A person affected by a surgery error can often make a surgical negligence claim against the NHS, where NHS Resolution will pay for their compensation.
This is a government scheme paid for by NHS Trusts that acts as an insurance policy and pays for NHS negligence claims.

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs two hospital sites and over 30 community hubs and facilities across the Halton and Warrington boroughs.
From 2019 to 2024, 60 claims regarding surgical errors were lodged against Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 59 of which were settled.
In 2019/2020, 24 claims were made against the trust, the highest number of claims over the past five years.
A year later, this number decreased to 13 claims.
The service has experienced a rise in claims over the past year compared to 2022/23, with a total of 9.

In response to the findings Dr Paul Fitzsimmons, Executive Medical Director for Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “At Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals ensuring patients are safe is of the greatest importance to us. We apologise to any patients and their families who did not receive the high standard of care that we aim to provide.
“On the occasions when a patient safety incident does occur, we follow national policy to record it, undertake an appropriate investigation to understand what happened, and where possible put measures in place to prevent it from happening again. We are committed to being open and transparent with patients and their families about what has gone wrong.”


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