Legal News
Care Quality Commission reveals failings by Private Hospitals (30 May 2018)
Date: 30/05/2018
Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt has been prompted by recent figures released by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to call out Private Hospitals for failing to meet the approved standard of care. He warns that if hospitals do not make improvements to their quality of care, they will be issued with government imposed sanctions.
The figures reveal that 20% of private hospitals are not meeting safety standards, which puts the public at risk of harm. As a result of insufficient resources, there are cases where private hospital patients are being transferred to NHS wards in a critical condition. This in itself will have a direct effect on private hospital profits as patients transferred as a result of negligence will be eligible to make claims for damages.
Many private hospitals have a reduced number of intensive care beds and resuscitation teams to hand meaning that when an emergency presents itself they must rely on NHS hospitals to pick up the slack.
It is also apparent that in some cases the NHS is covering the costs of negligence claims brought as a result of inadequate private hospital care. In his letter, Jeremy Hunt insists that remuneration should be more readily given when the fault lies in the private sector.
Jeremy Hunt has made suggestions for all private hospitals in a bid to improve standards of care across the board. These include applying:
- Enforced changes to leadership;
- Special measures;
- Extra oversight; and
- Greater transparency: publishing surgical outcomes and avoidable deaths.
NHS Trusts are complying with transparency guidelines with much greater efficiency than private health care providers. It is through this that issues can be identified and the risk to patients can be reduced proactively.
Any delay in treatment which causes injury or long-term damage which would have been avoided had treatment been given when the need presented itself, gives a patient the right to claim for negligence.
If you have been affected in this way, or you know someone who has suffered medical negligence, it is important to instruct a medical negligence solicitor who can assess your case and bring a claim on your behalf.
As the Director of Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury at Duncan Lewis, Rebecca Thomas is responsible for risk assessing all of the clinical negligence and personal injury claims handled by the firm. Rebecca is highly experienced in dealing with severe and complex clinical negligence and personal injury cases including, but not limited to; claims involving birth injuries, brain injuries, surgical injuries and orthopaedic injuries resulting from delay, misdiagnosis or negligent spinal or gastrointestinal surgery.
Contact Rebecca on 020 3114 1309 or email her at rebeccat@duncanlewis.com.
Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors
The Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence team has significant experience acting in a vast array of claims. Varying from accident and emergency failures to GP negligence claims, to misdiagnosed fractures to wrongful death matters claims. We also act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care in both NHS and private hospitals.
If you have any queries relating to Clinical Negligence or think that you may have a claim, please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert solicitors on 0333 772 0409.