Over £30 million in compensation by NHS failing to diagnose cancer
- 06.12.2022
- EmmaArnold
- Clinical-negligence
In 2021, there was a record number of NHS patients who received clinical negligence compensation settlements due to the medical professionals failing to diagnose cancer, with a total of £30.8 million awarded to 281 patients.
The number of patients making a claim for a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer increased by 33 per cent last year compared to the previous year.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed that the NHS were making more than four mistakes in an average week by not spotting the signs sooner.
Medical mistakes include misreading medical data, such as scans or biopsies, or a physical delay in making the diagnosis or the treatment itself.
According to the figures, the settlements have not only increased in numbers but also the compensation award. This is in addition to research which shows a delay of just one month can decrease survival by 10 per cent.
Peter Walsh, Chief Executive, of Action Against Medical Accidents, said:
"Misdiagnosis or late diagnosis is one of the biggest problems with things going wrong and causing harm in the NHS today, and doesn’t get the attention it deserves. The sharp increase in cases related to cancer comes as no surprise, as NHS services were so disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, the scale of this problem could be much higher, as it takes some time for these cases to come to light"
Experts believe that many of the excess deaths which were unrelated to Covid this year have occurred because people were not diagnosed or treated promptly in 2020 from conditions other than Covid.
Lesley Herbertson, Partner in Clinical Negligence at Potter Rees Dolan, said:
“Despite all the excellent medical advances with cancer diagnosis and treatment over the last decade or so, patients are still dying unnecessarily from the disease, in its different forms. Amongst the most significant issues are the delays in making the diagnosis and starting treatment. Whilst Covid has not helped, delay has been a key problem for some time. Prevention is better than cure, or missing the chance to cure, and more frontloaded investment in cancer screening and care is no doubt required.”
Lesley Herbertson is a Partner within Potter Rees Dolan's Clinical Negligence department. If you have any questions relating to this story or clinical negligence generally and wish to speak with Lesley, please call our free phone on 0800 027 2557. Alternatively, you can contact Lesley directly through her profile page on our website.