A new report has found that 1 in 5 Londoners have been personally impacted by medical negligence, or have a close friend or family who have.
In an aim to find out just how wide spread medical negligence is, Claims.co.uk commissioned independent data experts YouGov, to collect responses from over 2,000 UK residents on their experience of medical negligence and the reason they think they might happen.
The survey found that nearly half of all UK residents have experienced medical negligence in some capacity with London, Wales and Scotland the places residents are most likely to suffer.
15% of people, who responded to our survey and lived in London said they had been affected by poor treatment from the NHS or a private clinician; for 22% of respondents, the person suffering negligent treatment was a family member.
The survey also asked participants what they thought the main cause of medical negligence claims in the UK was – overwhelmingly people commented that they believed medical negligence happened as a result of overworked doctor and nurses were the cause of medical negligence.
Commenting on the change of perspective from 2015 to 2018 Managing Director of Claims.co.uk, John Quail said that the survey shows clinical negligence is a real problem:
“Back then, fewer people thought that overworked staff were the cause of medical negligence claims, and there was a bigger emphasis on fraudulent personal injury claims. Our survey has shown that the public are more aware of a strained NHS than ever before.
The shift in the public’s attitude is likely the result of a keener focus on funding supplied to the NHS and the recent news regarding working hours and contractual expectations.”
The report also looked into the regions where you are most likely to receive medial negligent treatment and whether women or men are more likely to suffer. To see the full report or for more information go to: www.claims.co.uk/medical-negligence/impact-of-medical-negligence
