Failure in hospital follow-ups could lead to clinical negligence claims

Posted 08/02/2011

New research has discovered that a large proportion of hospital tests are not being followed up by medical staff, potentially leaving the NHS and other authorities wide open to claims for clinical negligence compensation.

A study published in the British Medical Journal Quality and Safety discovered that up to 75 per cent of tests in emergency care facilities are never pursued, with consequences including delayed or missed diagnoses for patients.

The test results were most likely to not be pursued when patients were moved, for example, from inpatient to outpatient care.

Out of the 112 clinical negligence claims generated during the research, 79 were as a result of missed diagnoses that resulted in patients being harmed.

“There is evidence to suggest that the proportion of missed test results is a substantial problem, which impacts on patient safety,” concluded the authors of the report.

In September 2010, 55-year-old Catherine Watkins revealed in the Echo that she would be taking legal action after being told her pancreatic cancer was gallstones.

Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, the partner who heads the medical injury team at Ashtons Legal, says: “These types of errors are far more prevalent than even the research suggests because so many patients are being discharged too early from hospital without proper follow up. The situation will get even worse according to several major charities, once Primary Care Trusts are disbanded and there is a lack of coordinated care in the community for patients such as diabetics.”