Issue 20
September 2005

S.J. Edney solicitors were established in 1996 and are a niche Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Practice. Seamus Edney is a member of the Action against Victims of Medical Accidents Solicitors Panel, the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel and the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel. The firm holds a Legal Aid Franchise in Clinical Negligence.

As a firm we are committed to acting for victims of accidents and Seamus Edney has 20 years experience of Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury work.

 

SENIOR DOCTORS ADMIT MISTAKES IN CAMPAIGN FOR MORE OPEN CULTURE

More than a dozen senior British medical figures have publicly owned up to past clinical errors as part of a campaign to encourage other doctors to report incidents and improve the safety of patients.

The doctors have contributed their stories to a handbook for junior doctors published last week by the National Patient Safety Agency.

The Agency is calling on all doctors to report mistakes so that the root causes can be addressed. Research has shown that doctors are less likely than other professionals to report when things go wrong because they do not have time or they do not feel they will be treated fairly.

S J Edney welcomes this initiative especially if doctors are encouraged to report their mistakes to their patients as well. In our experience, the majority of our clinical negligence clients only seek legal advice in the first place because they feel that their doctors has not been open with them about their treatment and they suspect (often unfairly) that there may have been a cover up.

What doctors sometimes fail to appreciate is that an error need not mean negligence and they have nothing to worry about by being open and candid with their patients.

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Hospital rules spread bug

The changing environment in hospitals hampered MRSA control measures, according to a report in The Lancet.

Reductions in hospital beds resulted in more patients being transferred between wards, increasing the spread of MRSA, and shorter stays led to patients being discharged before infections became apparent. Dr Barry Cookson of the Health Protection Agency said that the transfer of patients between cities also spreads bugs.

The spread of MRSA is a recurrent theme in our medico-legal newsletters. This has become a major public health problem for the NHS. In S J Edney’s view, countries should come together to fight this worldwide plague as they have done with SARS and the “mad cow disease”.

What is interesting is countries like Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands are among the most successful at controlling MRSA where they have strict procedures including the screening of patients and staff together with facilities for the rapid identification and treatment of this bug as opposed to countries like Japan where there are very few measures to combat this public health problem.

NURSES FIGHT FOR RIGHT TO HAVE BREAST CANCER DRUG

A Nurse with breast cancer has started legal proceedings against her local Health Authority to force it to give her a powerful but expensive new drug to fight the disease.

The case is believed to be the first in which a patient has used the Human Rights Act (ie. right to life) in an attempt to force the NHS to prescribe a life saving drug.

She wants Somerset Coast PCT to prescribe to her Herceptin the new “magic bullet” cancer drug although it is not licensed and is therefore not prescribed to other cancer patients in the UK.

This case could have wide ranging implications if she is successful and could cost the NHS millions of pounds. It is likely they will resist this case using the “floodgates” argument.

A duty of care to parents

There has recently been much public debate and media attention focusing on the investigation of child abuse and miscarriages of justice when parents have been falsely accused of abusing their children.

One of the issues arising from this debate is whether a duty of care is owed by Local Authorities and Health Care professionals in respect of the investigation of abuse: is there a duty of care to the children and parents involved in those investigations?

This issue has recently come before the House of Lords in a number of separate but linked cases involving parents who have been wrongly accused of abusing their children. These allegations can have very serious repercussions in that the children are removed from home and the parents have suffered psychiatric harm.

In summary, the Court have held that Local Authorities and Health Care professionals owe a duty of care to children in investigating allegations of child abuse. They may breach their duty of care not only when they fail to act in good faith but also when they act carelessly or recklessly and fall short of the standards of skill and care that can be expected of a reasonable professional. The Court directed that a duty of care does not apply to a parent of an allegedly abused child. As far as parents are concerned the professionals only owe them a duty to act in good faith. This is a very disappointing result for the parents.

It is unlikely that this issue will end here. An application has been made by the parents to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that two of their rights have been breached: namely the right to private and family life and the right to an effective remedy before a National Authority.

The Community Legal Service (CLS) – 5 years old

Many happy returns to the CLS which has now reached its fifth birthday. It was created back in 2000 replacing Legal Aid.

CLS is administered by the Legal Services Commission. Its remit is to improve the quality of advice given to members of the public. There are now also a number of organisations (not just solicitors) who provide that advice. It is hoped that these new legal services will combat social exclusion and help those people who face enormous difficulties with problems such as homelessness, detention, poverty, discrimination and family background.

To find out more about the Legal Services Commission and their work, readers are encouraged to visit their website at www.legalservices.gov.uk.

CLAIMS TRENDS – SOLICITORS

September is always a very difficult month for solicitors as we need to renew our Professional Indemnity Insurance by no later than the 1 October for another 12 months. AON, one of the major brokers who arrange this insurance, have produced some interesting statistics with regard to claims trends.

Since 2000 it appears that domestic conveyancing has been the largest contributor to the number of claims and circumstances notified by smaller practices (a staggering 30%). It is followed closely by litigious and personal injury work (23%).

It seems that the fees charged for a routine conveyancing transaction have now become so low that many firms are employing unqualified staff (hence the mistakes) and with PI work it is the age old problem of practitioners missing important time limits on a case.

S J Edney’s insurance is now 10% of our gross fees and that’s with an excellent claims record.

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This newsletter was produced by S J Edney Solicitors, at Alexander House, 19 Fleming Way, Swindon, Wiltshire. SN1 2NG - e-mail sjedney@supanet.com
Telephone 01793 600721