'Nearly £50m' paid out by NHS over cancer negligence claims

The NHS has paid out almost £50 million since 1995 as a result of negligence claims relating to cancer treatment, new figures suggest.

According to statistics obtained by the Conservatives, during the 13-year period, there have been a total of 1,179 cancer-related clinical negligence claims, Channel 4 News reports.

It is also claimed that, last year, there were a total of 502 instances where cases of cancer were missed in patients and 6,344 mistakes relating to chemotherapy.

Additionally, over the 12-month period, there were said to be 1,854 radiotherapy errors, a rise of 386 on the previous year.

Last month, the BBC reported that victims of medical negligence in Northern Ireland have claimed nearly £76 million over the last five years, while recent reports in the Glasgow Evening Times suggested that compensation claims against NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have totalled more than £5.4 million since 2004.

19/03/2008 15:14