Revealed: The amount of misdiagnosis compensation claims paid out by a Shropshire hospital trust
Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) has had to pay out millions of pounds to patients following a misdiagnosis.
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Figures obtained by Medical Negligence Assist said that, since 2019, the trust had compensate £11,478,300 to people who have lodged claims.
SaTH is the main provider of district general hospital services for nearly half a million people, with its main locations being the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford.
Between 2019 and 2024, 95 claims regarding misdiagnoses were lodged against the trust, of which 81 were settled.
The highest number came in 2019/20, when 30 claims were made. This decreased to eight claims two years later, with the trust seeing the number of claims drop over the past year compared to 2022/23, with a total of 13.
The most common misdiagnosis claims were unneccesary pain, which was lodged 14 times, resulting in SaTH paying out £596,446 in compensation.
That was followed by cancer, which saw 12 claims submitted.
According to NHS Resolution, which settles litigation claims on behalf of NHS trusts, diagnostic errors contribute around 20% of all clinical negligence claims.
The reasons vary from case to case, but NHS Resolution highlghts two failures across England. One is diagnostic errors, particularly early incorrect diagnoses of soft-tissue injuries, while the other is issues with requests for imaging, reporting, interpretation, and follow up, ncluding a failure to complete further imaging such as CT or MRI, as indicated in national guidance.
In 2023, the British Medical Journal (BMK) carried out a study which found that around one in eight patients in primary and secondary care were affected by misdiagnosis. It also found that misdiagnosed cancers, strokes and heart attacks were among the most serious cases, often leading to life-altering consequences or death.
Dr John Jones, medical director at SaTH, said: “We recognise the impact that any failure of care can have on our patients and their loved ones and are committed to improving the care that we provide.
“Our clinical teams explore the learning from any cases to ensure that our patients receive the highest quality of care and continue to reduce the instances of misdiagnosis.
“We will support and listen to our patients and their families to further improve our standards and deliver the best possible experience.”
