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    04

    Sept 2023

    Last Updated: 01/09/2023
    Health
    Health

    Harrogate hospital trust paid £4.9m in compensation claims since last year

    by Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter

    | 04 Sept, 2023
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    harrogate-district-hospital-2
    Harrogate District Hospital.

    Harrogate District Hospital has paid out £4.9 million in compensation claims in the last 12 months.

    Figures obtained through a freedom of information request by law firm Legal Expert show Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust made the payments during the period July 2022 to July 2023.

    The claims covered medical negligence complaints, which occur when a healthcare professional provides substandard care to a patient that falls below the standard expected of any healthcare professional.

    However, the trust said some of the payouts were historical claims and were not necessarily claims resolved within the 12 month period.

    In total, the trust paid £4,914,799.05 in compensation payouts. In the same time period, the hospital received 28 new letters of claims.

    A spokesperson for the trust said: 

    “In the event that the care we provide falls below our expectations or those of our patients, we have procedures in place to investigate what has happened, so that we can learn and continuously improve patient safety.
    “We treat a large number of patients across the year and the vast majority are positive about the treatment we provide – the number of claims we receive reflects an extremely small percentage of the patients we care for.
    “It is important to note that the compensation figure is not only for claims which were resolved over the 12 month period in question, but also includes payments for historic claims which have been ongoing for several years."