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NHS waiting lists hit six million in England
18 Jan 2022
NHS Waiting Lists Hit Six Million in England
About 1 in 20 people on the NHS waiting list have been waiting for over a year to have something such as a minor surgery completed.
Another alarming statistic is that during December 2021, 27% of patients visiting A&E waited more than four hours to be seen, which is a record high.
People in A&E aren't the only ones affected; those in need of a bed are as well. More than 120,000 people, or nearly one-third of those admitted to hospitals, waited more than four hours for a bed.
Due to the extraordinarily high demand, ambulance workers have also struggled to reach patients in a timely manner. The average time it takes to respond to an immediate life-threatening callout is 7 minutes, while in December it took an average of 9 minutes for an ambulance to reach the patient.
It is supposed to take fewer than 18 minutes for an ambulance to arrive for emergencies like strokes and heart attacks, but the average was 53 minutes in December, which is quite simply unacceptable.
MPs across England are now starting to worry that the under-stress NHS workers could potentially quit unless they are made aware of "light at the end of the tunnel" in the form of reinforcements coming in to help with the workload.
Making A Claim For Medical Negligence
Once you’ve contacted us, we will explain the various options available to you to pursue your claim.
For more straightforward claims of a lower value, the NHS redress scheme is a potential option. This covers liabilities relating to personal injury or loss arising out of a breach of duty of care, those in relation to the diagnosis of an illness, or the care or treatment of any patient and arising as a result of any act or omission by a healthcare professional.
Possible outcomes from the NHS redress scheme include financial compensation, the giving of explanations and, in some instances, contracts for future remedial care.
It is also possible to seek redress through the NHS complaints procedure.
For more serious cases which attract higher levels of compensation following personal injury, your solicitor will have to acquire your medical records and obtain a medical expert’s opinion on your case. Once they have all the relevant information in support of your case, the details of your claim will be sent to the relevant NHS body. If the claim cannot be settled, Court action may have to be commenced.
In order for the courts to assess the validity of the claim, they will investigate the standard of care provided to you.
The standard of care expected from medical staff under UK law is that of an ordinary, competent medical practitioner with that skill. Your solicitor will see if there has been a breach of the duty of care by assessing whether they acted in accordance with the proper practice accepted by a body of medical opinion. If they didn’t, you may be eligible for compensation.
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Get in touch with First Personal Injury on 0333 358 2345 or through our online claim form.