Nurses, doctors and midwives will be required to offer face-to-face apologies to patients who have been been faced with negligent medical care. They will also be required, by law, to tell people affected by mistakes what has happened immediately, and what harm could result from the mistake.
Inforation will now have to be disclosed to the 10-20 per cent patients who are believed to have suffered harm as a result of negligence by health care professionals, The Guardian Newspaper reported.
The regulatory bodies of those professions have largely welcomed the move saying they think that apologies could improve patient trust in healthcare professionals.
It is hoped the change will save the NHS money by discouraging medical negligence claims which cost the tax-funded organisation about £1.3bn a year in fees.
There are a number of options open to patients who believe they have been the victim of medical negligence, and these start from making a complaint through PALs, and you can escalate your complaint to the Ombudsman if you do not feel it has been dealt with appropriately.
However, for some patients a claim may be the only way to put things right and we provide expert legal assistance and advice.
So if you are considering making a claim, call us as one of the strongest medical negligence claims Stockport lawyers and find out today how we can help.