Attitudes an endemic indictment of the medical negligence compensation bill?

In 2008 the annual poll of NHS staff by the Healthcare Commission makes for very uncomfortable reading and gives some insight into what may be endemic attitudes underlying the conditions that give rise to so many medical negligence compensation claims.

Perhaps the most worrying finding of the poll was the news that less than one-half of NHS staff, 46%, consider patient care to be their top priority, a viewpoint which seems to undermine thousands of years of medical care philosophy.

Of equal concern were the views of NHS staff on the trusts they represent. 25% said they believe that the trusts they work for do not view patient care as the top priority, with a further 29% saying that they neither agree nor disagree. And with strong communication between staff and managers an essential element of the good function of any large organisation, the news that only 22% of staff believe such communication to be effective within their relevant trust has the power to undermine confidence in an already maligned service. The polls finding that only 26% of staff believe their trust value their work can only add to the gloomy picture.

Increasing the picture of staff disempowerment and marginalisation is the news that only 23% of staff consider themselves to have any say in the making of important decisions.

While the poll indicated that progress has been made in the kinds of basic hygiene needed to combat the rise of hospital superbugs, with a 12% increase in the number of staff who say their hospitals are working hard enough to promote handwashing, the fact that their appears to be little unity between hospitals in measures to combat infection with Clostridium difficile and MRSA.

There was some good news for accountability, with a 2% rise, from 92% to 94%, of the number of staff reporting colleague errors. Worryingly, 40% of staff believe that the errors they witnessed were attributable to understaffing, something which is frequently blamed for the NHS's high medical negligence compensation bill.

Clinical negligence solicitors with pedigree
The no win, no fee solicitors on YouClaims panel firms all work under the industry-standard governance of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

With representatives right across the country who have made it their vocation to represent the victims of clinical negligence, we make it our priority to secure the best possible outcome for claimants who have suffered pain, distress and loss of earnings as a result of substandard or negligent medical care.

Just as we are all entitled to feel safe and secure in the hands of medical professionals UK, if things go wrong, we are entitled to the best chance of legal redress: this is exactly what YouClaim offer their clients.

It may also reassure you to know that, as part of our client-first philosophy, we never take a cut, assuring all winning claimants 100% compensation.

We can be contacted over the phone on 0800 10 757 95, or by leaving a callback request.

To get in touch with us from your desktop, fill out an internet claim form or have an online chat.