Head of NHS urges hospitals to kick out ambulance-chasing lawyers who cost £440m a year in claims
Simon Stevens said compensation is costing the same as 15,000 nurses a year
HOSPITALS must kick out ambulance-chasing lawyers who cost £440million a year in claims, says the head of the NHS.
Simon Stevens said compensation is costing the same as 15,000 nurses a year.
He was reacting to evidence that “no win no fee” companies are allowed to target patients inside hospitals.
Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge and Southampton General are even allowing lawyers to hire office space in public concourses, it was reported.
Dozens of other hospitals apparently take money for allowing compensation firms to advertise on NHS-branded information leaflets in casualty units.
Mr Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said the commercial deals were corrosive.
He said: “We need a sense that we practise what we preach, that we don’t have ambulance-chasing adverts in our A&E – those are things we still need to get right.
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“Latest figures show that lawyers skimmed off for themselves nearly 30 pence out of every pound that the NHS spent on compensating patients who experienced genuine harm.
“The £440m a year that law firms are sucking out of the NHS could otherwise have funded new patient treatments and 15,000 more nurses.
“Wherever possible let’s keep lawyers out of hospital and doctors out of court.”
Health minister Lord Prior described the situation as completely unacceptable.
He said: “Litigation cases cost the NHS more than £1.5n a year and guidance clearly states that organisations should not let these companies advertise in their buildings.”
