Somerset NHS trust pays out £13.5m in negligence claims in a year

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for running Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton

Somerset's main hospital trust has paid out £13.5m in medical negligence claims during the past 12 months.

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request showed Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is in the top ten nationally for medical negligence payouts.

Officials handled dozens of separate claims in the last year.

The trust said it strives to deliver the highest possible care to patients and had robust structures in place to address any shortfalls in standards.

It is responsible for running Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Yeovil Hospital and numerous community hospitals, minor injuries units and the county's mental health provision.A medical negligence claim may arise if a patient suffers unnecessary or avoidable harm, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The FoI, covering the period from July 2022 to July 2023, revealed that 77 medical negligence claims had been lodged against the trust - with a total of £13,511,879 being paid out.This represents the eighth-highest payout of NHS trusts in England and Wales, and the highest in the south west, based on trusts which responded to the FoI request.

Nick Banks, head of medical negligence at JF Law, said patients should not worry about making a claim against trusts for fear of diverting funds from frontline services."While some people understandably worry that making a claim will affect frontline care, the reality is that hospitals and GPs are always insured against such claims."As such, any damages owed are paid by the insurers, and do not affect the care other patients are receiving."

Lessons learnedSomerset NHS Foundation Trust said that the risks facing its facilities varied from other hospitals covering different catchment areas.It explained some cases take years to resolve, with some payments being made in instalments - meaning payments made in 2022/23 may not relate to claims made in this time period.A spokesman said: "When things go wrong, we work hard to identify what happened, what needs to be done differently and any lessons that can be learned, including additional training that can be shared with colleagues to improve our services."