Clinical Negligence News

BBC Panorama programme ~ Dying to be Treated? - Stephen Lewis

On 30 September 2009 a BBC Panorama special investigated a key government health policy introduced in 2003 to slash waiting lists by using the private sector to treat NHS patients.

There are around 40 Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) in the UK and they were a key policy of the "new NHS" that was meant to offer good service and limit waiting times.

Whilst thousands had benefited from fast-track operations, a number of bereaved families and senior surgeons believed there were risks taken with patient safety and millions of pounds had been wasted.

The Care Quality Commission, which regulates healthcare in England, is now looking into procedures at all clinics following the death of one man during a routine operation.

In a statement the CQC said: "In order to assure ourselves that the risk to patients is minimised, we are checking with all registered independent treatment centres that they have robust and appropriate systems in place" in order to protect the safety of patients.

The Department of Health said the Independent Sector Treatment Programme had treated hundreds of thousands of patients successfully and succeeded in slashing long waiting lists and reducing suffering.

It said patients could expect the same standard of care in ISTCs as in the NHS and there was a robust system of checks and balances in place to ensure patient safety.

However, Dr Jonathan Fielden, Chair of the Consultants and Specialists Committee of the British Medical Association, highlighted the risk to patients of outsourcing operations by saying: " There are risks that they don't get the continuity of care, the continuity when something goes wrong ... all the back up that there is in a full NHS facility. An isolated treatment centre doesn't have that."

Peter Walsh, Chief Executive of patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) said: "There should always be a robust assessment of risk, and if this had been done prior to the Independent Sector Treatment initiative, things may have been different."

David Worskett, Director of NHS Partners Network, which represents independent sector providers to the NHS, has commented on the BBC's programme and said:
" Independent sector providers are confident about the excellent safety record, and the public can already be reassured about the overall safety of treatment centres for appropriate types of surgery. The specific Care Quality Commission checks will strengthen that reassurance."

Lees Solicitors LLP has a clinical negligence team who deal with a variety of matters, including substandard care provided by independent treatment centres. Please contact a member of our team on 0151 647 9381 or 0800 387 927.

Stephen Lewis

This article provides a summary of a recent case/change in law/news item. It is intended for general information purposes only and is not to be relied upon. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated under any circumstances as a substitute for legal advice. Lees Solicitors LLP does not accept any responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance upon the information contained within this article. The copyright in this article is owned by Lees Solicitors LLP and permission must be sought before reproduction or publishing.

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