Background
The cost of resolving clinical negligence claims in the NHS is substantial. In March 2024, witnesses from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) told the Public Accounts Committee that the provision for future liabilities was £69.3 billion. The payments for claims continues to increase, with in-year costs amounting to £2.8 billion in 2023-24 (up 6.8% on 2022-23).
Our last report on clinical negligence in 2017, Managing the costs of clinical negligence in trusts, concluded that clinical negligence costs in trusts were significant and rising fast. While DHSC had proposed measures to reduce existing costs, these were small and incremental compared to predicted rises in liabilities.
Scope
This investigation will set out the facts with regards to:
- the scale of changes to the value of long-term liabilities for clinical negligence claims and associated in-year payments
- what is behind those changes and how they could be expected to change in the future
NAO team
Director: Andy Morrison
Audit Manager: Katie Sargeant