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Shoosmiths welcomes call for NHS apologies

10 March 2009

National law firm Shoosmiths has welcomed calls for the NHS to make meaningful apologies when mistakes are made.

Partner and head of clinical negligence Richard Follis said an article by the Chief Medical Officer for England contained ‘a very powerful message’.

Sir Liam Donaldson’s piece – ‘Sorry’ is still the hardest word – was written for the BBC News website’s Scrubbing Up column.

In it, he writes: “A true apology faces up to the reality that somebody has suffered due to the actions of others”.

“A real apology has the power to transform. The person receiving the apology knows that they have been listened to, and that there is true regret.”

“Apologies also need to be followed by action. Repeated surveys show that when a mistake is made, what patients want is not only a full apology, but to know that action has been taken to prevent it from happening again...”

Richard Follis said: “Regrettably, too many people affected by NHS mistakes – some in the most devastating ways – are still driven to litigation because they come to regard it as the only way they can find out what really happened. They start off not wanting to take legal action, but arrive at it as a last resort when all else seems to fail.   

“That is why Sir Liam’s article carries such a powerful message. Apologies must be meaningful, made promptly, and must be sincere, otherwise the NHS will continue to turn injured patients or their next of kin into litigants.”

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see the NHS learning from past mistakes. Instead, I continue to be asked to represent injured patients or families who have lost a loved one in depressingly familiar accidents.

“Most say they do not want others to go through what they have experienced and that they feel compelled to take action because the NHS response to a series of errors was to draw a veil over why and how they happened.

“Faced with feeling fobbed off, many decide their only option is to consult lawyers. Only when the root causes of medical accidents are acknowledged will progress be made to make the NHS a safer place.”

Follis said the situation is compounded by advice from the National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHSLA).

In a circular to NHS bodies in August 2007, it wrote: “Care should be taken in the dissemination of explanations so as to avoid future litigation risks...”  

Follis said: “In cases where there was an NHS error, sympathising with a patient for their loss without addressing the cause is not a true apology.

“And it appears the NHSLA is out of step with both the Chief Medical Officer and the National Patient Safety Agency. The sooner this is remedied the better.”

To read Sir Liam’s article go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7895379.stm

For further information please contact:
Name: Alastair Gray
Phone: 08700 864096
Email: Alastair.Gray@shoosmiths.co.uk

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