A rapid compensation scheme for babies left disabled by medical blunders will be announced today.
The fast-track process, to be unveiled by Jeremy Hunt, promises to spare families the heartache of years spent battling through the courts.
In a bid to end a culture of denial and secrecy around cases of medical negligence, it will also see doctors who own up to blunders given legal protection, using a similar system to that in the airline industry.
The Health Secretary wants to encourage an ‘open and transparent’ culture by ending the fear of litigation among doctors and nurses. He hopes the Rapid Resolution and Redress Scheme will make going to court a last resort for families after an alleged medical blunder during birth.
The fast-track process, to be unveiled by Jeremy Hunt, promises to spare families the heartache of years spent battling through the courts.
Nearly 1,000 babies each year die or suffer a severe brain injury because of avoidable harm caused in labour.
It takes an average 11.5 years for families to see a resolution through the courts, with the annual compensation bill to the NHS reaching half a billion pounds last year.
Officials hope about 500 cases a year will go through the voluntary fast-track scheme, which will be run by independent panels of legal and medical experts. They will scrutinise allegations of medical negligence or error made by parents and decide if a case is eligible for compensation, and the sum that should be paid.
Doctors will also be encouraged to own up when things go wrong in the hopes they will rapidly learn from mistakes, so improving standards.
Source: Daily Mail.