Healthcare - July 2010
Welcome to Weightmans LLP’s special edition
newsletter that was produced for the NHS Confederation annual
conference and exhibition 2010.
Clinical negligence
Litigation round-up and useful
lessons
Jasmine Armstrong, Associate at Weightmans
LLP, addresses various issues and claims in this litigation
round-up. Topics include the report on Mid
Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, innovative methods of resolving
compensation claims and choosing the right cases to defend.
Healthcare advisory
Self-harm minimisation and the
law
There’s a limit to how often you can counsel
caution – whether you’re a nurse or a lawyer. David Hewitt, Partner at Weightmans LLP, considers
self-harm minimisation, intervention and how the law is implicated
in these decisions.
At what cost “just
satisfaction”?
Emma Galland, Solicitor
at Weightmans LLP, discusses the case of Savage v South
Essex Partnership NHS Foundation.
Further concern about NHS Data
Protection
The Information Commissioner’s Office has
warned that access to sensitive medical records is not being
strictly controlled, and hence many NHS Trusts are breaching the
law. Simon Charlton, Associate at
Weightmans LLP, considers the concerns about the failure of NHS
Trusts to take data security seriously.
Commercial
The NHS IT Programme - Coalition to
continue roll-out of Summary Care Records
The Coalition Government has recently
announced that - contrary to indications by both the Conservative
and Liberal Democrat parties prior to the General Election - it
plans to proceed with the implementation of the Summary Care
Records database which recently began in England. Clare Sellars, Partner at Weightmans LLP, discusses
the uncertain future of this system.
Health & Safety – Regulatory
Negligent care could lead to a charge
of Corporate Manslaughter
An NHS Foundation Trust was recently fined
£50,000 and ordered to pay £40,000 in costs following the tragic
death of a severely disabled young man in 2006. Leigh Carter, Solicitor at Weightmans LLP, reports
on the case.
Medical negligence can lead to a
criminal prosecution
An NHS Trust was fined £75,000 and ordered to
pay costs after it admitted breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health
and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by putting the safety of patients
at risk. Leigh Carter, Solicitor at
Weightmans LLP, considers the increasing willingness of the Health
and Safety Executive to prosecute hospital Trusts.
Employment
Double trouble - combined
discrimination claims
Mark Landon, Partner at
Weightmans LLP, discusses the progression of The Equality Act
2010 and the consequences of its employment provisions
that are due to be implemented in October 2010.
Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital
NHS Foundation Trust
Mike Berriman, Partner
at Weightmans LLP, discuses the case of Edwards v
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the
implications that it will have for other NHS employers.