Research carried out by Nockolds Solicitors has highlighted that the NHS paid out £35 million in compensation last year because hospitals were unsafe for staff to work in, and dangerous for members of the public to visit.
These compensation payments are entirely separate from claims for medical negligence when patients are injured as a result of substandard care provided by medical professionals.
Over the 2017/2018 financial year, 232 NHS Trusts paid out a total of £34,966,393 to settle employers’ liability, public liability, property damage and theft claims.
Public liability claims arise when members of the public are injured in a public place because those responsible for the area have failed to ensure it is safe.
Employers’ liability claims occur when an employer breaches its duty of care to provide a safe working environment for staff.
This amount does not include claimant or defence legal costs and is simply the aggregate sum paid to claimants as a result of hospitals failing to provide adequate safeguards for staff and members of the public.
The average pay-out across all 232 NHS Trusts was £158,219.
While accidents happen, they should not be happening on this scale. Doctors, nurses and other hospital staff have the right to work in a safe environment while members of the public should not be at risk of injury during routine visits to family and friends.
The NHS has the same duty of care to ensure the health and safety of employees and members of the public as any other employer or occupier of public premises.
Common accidents at work amongst NHS staff include manual handling injuries when moving equipment, muscular injuries when handling, and moving patients.
The NHS can be a very busy and stressful environment causing psychological injuries as well as physical injuries amongst staff.
Common accidents amongst members of the public visiting hospitals include slipping on wet floors and tripping over objects left in busy wards and corridors.
In relation to the NHS, public liability and employers’ liability claims often escape attention because of larger settlements for patients who sustain life changing injuries as a result medical negligence. They can, however, can run into hundreds of thousands – and sometimes millions – of pounds.
Just as importantly, and as a matter of principle, NHS staff going about their work and members of the public making hospital visits should not be exposed to dangerous risks and injury through no fault of their own.