A total of £265,503,877 of taxpayers’ money was paid out in clinical negligence claims in just four years,

Welsh Labour’s Health Minister must apologise for shocking clinical negligence figures.

The Welsh Labour-led Government’s Health Minister must urgently apologise to patients and their families who were not given adequate health care, the Shadow Health Minister has demanded.

A total of £265,503,877 of taxpayers’ money was paid out in clinical negligence claims in just four years, Freedom of Information requests (FoIs) by the Welsh Conservatives has revealed.

But with both Hywel Dda and Cardiff and Vale University Health Boards unable to provide payments made in 2019-2020, the overall clinical negligence claims are likely to exceed the current £265.5 million figure.

Commenting on the FOI findings, the Shadow Minister for Health, Social Care and Sport, Andrew RT Davies MS, said:

“A total of 3,081 people made a claim – and behind each figure is a person who was not provided with the level of care and support they were entitled to.

“Importantly, my thoughts go out to all those who have been let down. Where a patient has been let down, rightly answers are sought.

“Our fantastic Welsh NHS staff are under immense pressure in delivering care to thousands of patients up and down Wales, but they also need to be given more confidence to perform their vital duties – not left out to dry when an accident occurs.

“On the whole our NHS in Wales delivers a first-class treatment to the people of Wales, but where bad practice occurs it must be rooted out.

“What our Welsh NHS and the people of Wales now deserve is an immediate apology from the Health Minister for letting us down, as these shocking clinical negligence figures show.

“I urge him to get a grip of this situation – but if his past record is anything to go by  I’m not holding my breath.”

• £265.5m was paid out in clinical negligence claims between the financial years 2016 – 2020 (two health boards were unable to provide figures for 2019/20 – Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board).
• On the figures we have received, Swansea Bay University Health Board paid out the most, £68.7m, closely followed by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board at £65.5m.
• Between 2017/18 and 2018/19, Cardiff and Vale UHB’s clinical negligence payments shot up from £8.3m to £24.3m – an increase of 66%.
• Between 2018/19 and 2019/20, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board’s pay-outs trebled – from £4.5m to £13.1m.
• Only 5 health boards were able to give partial figures for 2019/20 – £44m has been paid out so far between them – Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB’s £13.1m makes up a third of this figure.
• Betsi Cadwaladr UHB has the highest number of claims over the last 4 years, at just shy of 1,000 (990), followed by Swansea Bay at 600.
• Some of the top three reasons for pay-outs include diagnosis, treatment error, delays and inpatient falls.