The NHS provides medical care to nearly one million people every 36 hours. With so many patients coming to the UK’s hospitals, it’s not surprising that some mistakes are made along the way. Patients expect to receive the best medical care in both private and public institutions. Despite the NHS being one of the safest and most effective medical institutions globally, mistakes still happen.
Medical negligence refers to substandard medical care, which results in injury or worsens the patient’s condition. If you have experienced medical negligence, you should seek support and help.
Here are the most common medical negligence claims in the UK.
Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is when a medical professional provides an inaccurate diagnosis of a patient’s condition. Misdiagnosis can happen with symptoms that are hard to identify or common with another condition. For example, cancer, meningitis and diabetes are the most common conditions to be misdiagnosed. Misdiagnosing an illness can cause the patient further pain, and in severe cases, it can be life-threatening.
Surgical negligence
For the most part, surgeries in the UK are successful. However, some surgeries can cause unnecessary injury or leave foreign objects in the patient’s body. Surgical negligence is often the result of an avoidable error during an operation that results in further injuries.
Incorrect medication
Thousands of prescriptions are handed out every day in the UK. Unfortunately, mistakes can happen, and the wrong medication or dosage can be handed to a patient. The wrong medication can cause psychological problems, brain damage and even death.
Prenatal care and childbirth negligence
In 2012 alone, 694241 babies were born in England. While most of these births were successful, it is common for complications to arise even in relatively straightforward births. The midwife may fail to monitor the mother properly, or the doctor may miss a defect in the baby resulting in life-changing consequences.
Prenatal negligence can also occur in the fertility and IVF stages. Doctors may misdiagnose a miscarriage, stillbirth or perform a failed sterilisation.
Infection
There are hundreds of conditions and diseases being treated in hospitals. A medical professional may fail to diagnose an infectious disease and submit a patient to a general ward. Inadequate treatment of an infectious disease can have detrimental consequences throughout the hospital and onto other patients.
Cancer
Cancer is one of the most common conditions to be misdiagnosed. When a medical professional misdiagnoses cancer, it can cause the patient’s condition to worsen over time.
