SALISBURY BASED MEDICAL COMPENSATION CLAIM SPECIALISTS
It is really important to find a specialist medical negligence solicitor to handle your claim if you have been unfortunate enough to have a victim of such negligence. Why is that? Not only is the law and procedure complex when it comes to cases of medical negligence [sometimes referred to as clinical negligence], but to give you the best chance of winning the compensation you deserve, your solicitor is going to need a good understanding of medical issues so that they can properly review medical reports, any x-rays and GP or hospital notes, for example.
Here at Salisbury Solicitors, Bonallack and Bishop [who run this website], we can help you with specialist legal advice about your medical negligence claim.
FOR FREE SPECIALIST ADVICE – CALL US NOW ON SALISBURY (01722) 422300
HOW TO FIND A SPECIALIST SALISBURY BASED MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE SOLICITOR?
Our medical negligence team consists only of experienced and qualified solicitors, one of whom is also a qualified nurse – which means you can be guaranteed specialist advice and you won’t be left with having your claim run by a faceless unqualified call centre operative.
So, if you’re looking for specialist local help in running your medical negligence compensation claim – you can appoint our team in the safe knowledge that we have been independently accredited as real experts.
RECENT MEDICAL ERRORS IN SALISBURY
There are a number of providers of medical treatment in the Salisbury area, of which by far the largest is Salisbury District Hospital itself, which opened in 1991 and which provides medical cover for around 165,000 people in Salisbury and across Wiltshire.
Our medical negligence team see a lot of claims against hospitals across the southeast, and thankfully, for those living in the Salisbury area like me, SDH has had a pretty good reputation locally. We were particularly pleased to see that 2015 saw the national healthcare intelligence organisation, CHKS, grant Salisbury District Hospital a Top Hospitals Award as one of the 40 best hospitals in England Wales – an award based on a range of 22 standards of “clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care.”
However, worryingly, there do appear to have been a series of regular and serious clinical mistakes. The latest occurred as recently as early 2018 when Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust admitted what is referred to as not just one but two “never events” in the space of just two months.
‘Never Events’ are simply medical mistakes like these that should never, ever occur. In recent years Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has recently been waging war on these kinds of dreadful surgical errors which are taking place far too often
Limited information was provided by the trust about these 2 2018 failings. However, they did describe the first of the two incidents as “wrong-site surgery”. That is defined as an operation that was remarkably was carried out either on the wrong body part or the wrong patient entirely. The second of the two incidents involved what the trust described as a “foreign object” being left inside a patient after a surgical procedure.
These two serious horrendous errors were not the only ever events that have taken place at SDH in recent years. In fact, this was the third “never events” recorded by the hospital in the 2017/2018 financial year, which follow on from two similar incidents in the previous year.
Additionally, in October 2015, surgeons at the hospital admitted to having operated on the wrong part of a patient’s body. Then in December 2015, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust admitted another “never event” – confirming that in October of that year, surgeons at the hospital had operated on the wrong part of a patient’s body. That followed a mistake in 2014 when a surgical swab was left inside a patient after an operation at SDH
2015 also saw the trust report another worrying incident which a spokesman said involved a swab being left in a patient’s body after surgery.
You probably will not be surprised to read that a report prepared for the trust said that “never events” in surgery remained an “area of concern”.
Unfortunately, with such a large hospital, covering such a big population, errors do take place. But in recent years our team have handled a surprising number of compensation claims against Salisbury District Hospital– so let’s hope that standards are improving.
Unfortunately, with such a large hospital, covering such a big population, errors do take place. But in recent years our team have handled a surprising number of compensation claims against Salisbury District Hospital– so let’s hope that standards are improving.
SALISBURY DISTRICT HOSPITAL – ARE THINGS GETTING BETTER?
But is the situation actually improving at Odstock? One good sign emerged in March 2016 when the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust – [the organisation running SDH] was ranked fifth in the Learning from Mistakes League which according to the Department of Health ranks trusts on their “openness and honesty”. This league table is apparently based on data on “safety reporting and the NHS staff survey”.
The warning bells were then raised just one month later in April 2016 when a Care Quality Commission report stated that each of the following fundamental medical services guided by Salisbury District hospital “requires recruitment
- Spinal Injuries Centre
- A&E
- Surgery
- Intensive and critical care
- Services for children & young people
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS COST SALISBURY NHS MORE THAN £30 MILLION
Between 2012 and 2017, Salisbury NHS paid out over £30million as a direct result of medical negligence claims. That was extremely disappointing – although Salisbury’s record had been better, on the back of those figures, the Trust was ranked as low as 94th in terms of cash paid out as a result of claims, out of 258 Trusts nationwide. This performance put it behind Trusts in Dorset, Bournemouth, Bath and Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
FUNDING YOUR COMPENSATION CLAIM? THERE’S NO NEED TO WORRY
Medical negligence claims are complex, can take years to settle and as a result, legal bills can be very expensive. However, there is no need to worry if you appoint us – we can run your claim using a no win no fee agreement – so there’s no reason for you to worry about having to pay your legal bill.
HOME AND HOSPITAL VISITS AVAILABLE IN SALISBURY
It’s not unusual for our clients in medical negligence cases to have difficulty in travelling. That’s not a problem – our team are happy to visit you at home in Salisbury or in hospital at Salisbury District Hospital – or, in fact anywhere in Wiltshire, Hampshire or Dorset.
FREE SPECIALIST MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE ADVICE – CALL SALISBURY (01722) 422300
If you think that you might be entitled to compensation for a medical error, phone or email our team right away – remember there are strict time limits for making such claims and any lengthy delay in making your claim could mean that you lose the right to the compensation you deserve.
For free initial phone advice and a free no-obligation first appointment, get in touch with us today.
Bonallack and Bishop,
Rougemont House,
Rougemont Close,
Salisbury,
Wiltshire,
SP1 1LY
- Call us today on SALISBURY (01722) 422300 or free on FREEPHONE
0800 1404544
OR - Complete the email contact form below
There is free car parking for clients visiting our Salisbury office.