An NHS trust forked out around £900,000 in damages over the last year for claims of medical negligence.

Whittington Health NHS Trust, which primarily serves patients in Islington and Haringey, settled the claims between July 2022 and July 2023.

The data was revealed following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by LegalExpert.com.

It also showed that the trust, which runs Whittington Hospital in Archway, received 310 complaints over the same time period.

A total of 100 of these were about medical care, nursing care and end of life care.

In the last year, 39 reports of medical negligence at the trust were deferred to NHS resolution, which manages claims within the health service.

Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional provides care to a patient that falls below the expected standard. 

A claim may arise if the patient subsequently suffers unnecessary or avoidable harm.

Following the release of the data, Nick Banks at JF Law, which owns the Legal Expert brand, warned that the consequences for medical negligence can be “devastating”. 

He said: “As well as the obvious emotional impact, injuries and bereavements can cause a bigger financial impact than many households can bear, particularly in the current cost of living crisis, when many are already struggling to make ends meet.

“Whilst some people understandably worry that making a claim will affect front line care, the reality is that hospitals and GPs are always insured against such claims.

“As such, any damages owed are paid by the insurers, and do not affect the care other patients are receiving.”

A spokesperson for Whittington Health NHS Trust said: “The safety of our patients is our number one priority, however, on the very rare occasions when things go wrong we act quickly to investigate what happened, to learn from it and if it is fair and appropriate to ensure that the people affected are compensated.

“But it is important to stress that the figures quoted represent a tiny fraction of the number of patients we care for.

“Last year we provided care and treatment to over 1 million people, the majority of whom were positive about the care they received.”

  • Editor's note: An earlier version of this story wrongly said the trust had paid out around around £179 million in damages. This was because the figure released after the Freedom of Information request was incorrect.