The medico-legal crisis and how to solve it

The author of this report, published by the Centre for Policy Studies, concludes that the NHS' liabilities for medico-legal claims now total £65bn, draining the NHS of much-needed funds and putting patients at risk by driving GPs out of practice.

The report puts forward nine recommendations to bring down costs for the NHS and provide better outcomes for patients.

Deprivation of liberty safeguards

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were introduced into the Mental Capacity Act by the Mental Health Act 2007. This briefing from the House of Commons Library describes recent and proposed changes, including the Law Commission review.

Managing the costs of clinical negligence in trusts

According to this report from the National Audit Office, the government needs to take a stronger and more integrated approach if it is to rein in the increasing cost of clinical negligence claims across the health and justice systems. It finds that over the last ten years, spending on the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts has quadrupled from £0.4 billion in 2006-07 to £1.6 billion in 2016-17, while the number of successful clinical negligence claims where damages were awarded has more than doubled, from 2,800 to 7,300.

The Rising Cost of Clinical Negligence: Who Pays the Price?

This report from the Medical Protection Society estimates that clinical negligence costs in the NHS have increased by 72 per cent over the last five years and that costs could reach £2.6bn a year by 2022. It argues that there should be reasonable compensation for patients who suffer harm due to clinical negligence but that this must be balanced against society's ability to pay. The report makes recommendations for legal reforms around clinical negligence compensation.

Mental health trust prosecuted after nurses attacked

The Health and Safety Executive is prosecuting a mental health trust after two nurses were attacked by a patient, it has been confirmed to HSJ. Read more HERE (HSJ login required).

Guidance for handling medicolegal samples and preserving the chain of evidence (2e)

Updated guidance from the Royal College of Pathologists.

Readers’ panel - Should personal use of illegal drugs be decriminalised?

Article published in the Nursing Standard on the decriminalisation of personal illegal drug use, one of whose contributors works at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

Request this article from the library.

UHCW Research - Daniel Athey

New Guide to Annual Reporting on Patient and the Public Participation

NHS England has launched a new annual reporting guide for CCGs and NHS England staff. It sets out the organisations’ responsibilities to report on how they meet their legal duties to involve patients and the public in their work.

The guide includes useful tools, resources and good practice examples to support the development of annual reports. It also provides advice on making reports accessible and appealing.

Positive and Proactive Care

New document form the Royal college of Nursing about reducing the need for restrictive interventions,