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You are in: Home Page | Personal Injury | Medical Negligence Claims | Clinical Negligence Articles and Clinical Negligence Factsheets | Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

November 2010

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

There has been a significant amount of media attention recently regarding treatment provided by The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Many patients are uncertain why there have been so many inquests into care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. In addition, our clients have told us they are unsure as to the purpose of the inquests and whether the outcomes will affect them or their families, both in relation to the care they have received and the care that may be afforded in future. Our clients also want to know how the inquests will affect their rights to complain or pursue legal action for compensation.

The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust is the governing body responsible for the health care provided at both Stafford Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital. Several years ago, the Healthcare Commission (now the Quality Care Commission) identified that there were relatively high mortality rates for patients being treated at the facilities administered by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. As a result, a full scale inquiry was launched by the Healthcare Commission, the findings of which were published in March 2009. The Healthcare Commission were exceptionally critical of the care provided by The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Thompsons provided legal assistance to a number of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust patients following the publication of the 2009 report.

Following the release of the Healthcare Commission’s Report, it was decided that there needed to be an independent review of what had happened at Stafford Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital. This is because the Healthcare Commission is linked to the NHS and could not, therefore, be truly independent. This second report, published in February 2010, identified that systemic deficiencies at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust are likely to have led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths and thousands of patients experiencing exceptionally poor care.

Thompsons recently achieved an award of compensation

Thompsons recently achieved an award of compensation for a client who experienced failings in cleanliness and infection control at Mid Staffordshire Hospital during his admission to the hospital in July 2008. Our client’s shocking experience began when he had to face unclean wards and toilets, with the regular presence of soiled towels on the floor and unhygienic toilets.

During his admission, our client became aware that another patient on the same ward had contracted the hospital acquired infection, Clostridium Difficile (C.Diff). Unfortunately, NHS guidelines on controlling the infection at the hospital were not followed on this occasion and therefore the infected patient was not isolated as he should have been, and outbreaks of the infection were not contained. This proved very serious for our client who is believed to have contracted C.Diff from the infected patient on his ward. The contraction of C.Diff led to our clients admission being prolonged due to his need for treatment for the infection. As a result of this contraction, our client suffered additional symptoms including a high fever, dysentery and disorientation. At one stage, there was a real risk of additional surgery as a result of the contraction of C.Diff. The hospital admission on a whole was the cause of immense stress and anxiety for our client due to the risk it posed for his health. In his complaint to the Hospital Trust, he raised concerns about the poor standard of treatment and hygiene and requested that changes be made to the systems followed to avoid similar occurrences for other patients in the future.

In the response to the claim presented by Thompsons, the Trust fully admitted that substandard treatment had been provided to our client and negotiations with respect to settlement were thereafter successful in the award of a substantial sum of compensation.

The most recent inquiry, a public inquiry which has been widely publicised in the media, was commissioned in June 2010. The latest inquiry differs from the earlier investigations in a number of ways. Witnesses can be forced to attend the hearings and give their evidence under oath. In addition, the hearings are open to the general public. The evidence produced in the earlier inquiries will, of course, be scrutinised in this latest investigation into the care provided by The Mid Staffordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Will the inquiry help patients who have received sub-standard treatment?

In the midst of media coverage surrounding the inquests, it is often not clear to patients what they should do if they or their family have received substandard care at either Stafford Hospital or Cannock Chase Hospital, and how this will be affected by the inquests. The inquests are primarily a fact finding exercise. The coroner will try to establish what went wrong at the hospitals and what can be done to prevent patients being subject to the same, unacceptable standards of care in future. The inquiry will not provide answers for each and every patient who has suffered harm as a result of treatment received at one of The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust hospitals.

The Dr Foster Hospital Guide 2010

Unfortunately, it seems the NHS has not improved its services following these high profile inquiries. The Dr Foster Hospital Guide, which provides an annual review of the standards and availability of health care provision within the NHS, recently published its 2010 addition (for the full report, please follow this link: http://www.drfosterhealth.co.uk/docs/hospital-guide-2010.pdf.). The findings of the 2010 report are particularly concerning. The Dr Foster Guide has identified at least 19 Hospital Trusts which expose their patients to significantly higher than average mortality rates - sometimes as much as 50% higher than the norm.

What is exceptionally disappointing is that a lot of the problems identified in the latest Dr Foster Guide, for example poor standards of hygiene or avoidable damage to internal organs during surgery, are the same issues for which the Mid Staffordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has been severely criticised throughout the public enquiries.

What should I do if either I or my family have been affected?

There are a number of options available for patients or their families who are not directly involved in the inquest but who are interested in finding out what happened in their case: and, importantly, what can be done to make sure this does not happen again.

One option is to pursue a complaint using the NHS’ own complaints procedure. This is an informal (ie non legal) procedure which can help patients obtain answers to the questions which arise following the treatment received. Although patients will not be able to obtain compensation by using the NHS complaints procedure, in our experience, clients find that a complaint can be invaluable in helping them understand what has happened, whether injuries were preventable and what the Trust can learn from the experience to prevent it happening in future. Whilst it is an informal, non legal procedure, this is something Thompsons can help you with, whether you wish to proceed with a legal claim for compensation or not.

Medical errors can ruin lives. Not only do patients and their family have to live with the resulting physical and mental consequences, but the effects can also be costly, adding financial burdens to the physical and mental ones. Our clients find that for these reasons, and where the informal compliant procedure does not result in a satisfactory outcome, it becomes necessary to pursue a claim to recover financial compensation to help them deal with the loss incurred as a result of negligence.

Medical negligence claims, or clinical negligence claims as they are known in the legal profession, are a unique area of law requiring specialised legal assistance. If you are considering a legal claim following treatment received at The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust hospitals, or indeed any medical treatment you have received, it is important you choose a firm of solicitors who has the specialist expertise and the passion for medical work.

If you would like further information on the NHS complaints procedure or pursing a clinical negligence claim, please contact Thompsons on 08000 224 224 to be put in touch with one of the clinical negligence team.

Compensation Claim Advice

Thompsons Solicitors have years of experience in dealing with cases involving clinical negligence.

If you or anyone you know has suffered from any form of clinical negligence, telephone us now for accurate personal injury claim advice.

There are strict time limits in place to make any personal injury compensation claim. For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.

Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all matters relating to clinical negligence and will be able to advise you as to whether or not you have a valid personal injury claim for compensation. Our specialist clinical negligence lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have.

Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.