MILLIONS of pounds have been paid out in damages following serious mistakes in care at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Someone can bring a claim against an NHS trust if it is believed they, or a family member, suffered harm or died due to negligent treatment.

New figures show that in 2019-20, there were 33 successful claims of medical negligence made against the trust – which runs Leighton Hospital, Victoria Infirmary Northwich and Elmhurst in Winsford.

A total damages bill of £7.6 million was paid out in relation to these claims over the year, while further legal costs totalled £641,624.

There were nine more successful claims resolved last year than in 2018-19, but many of the claims cover historic issues, with one of the 2019-20 claims dating back to an issue from 2005.

The trust says the cost of claims nationally has risen due to a number of outside factors, while legal costs have also increased.

All claims are settled and paid for by NHS Resolution, which each trust pays a financial contribution towards.

A trust spokesman said: "Patient safety is our top priority and the vast majority of the 350,000 people we care for each year have a good experience with us.

"On the rare occasion that something goes wrong, we involve patients and families in any investigation to make sure lessons are learned and to continually enhance the care we offer.

"We work closely with NHS Resolution to ensure that any claims, which can be raised many years after the issue occurred, are resolved as quickly as possible for the families involved."

In a report, Ian Dilks, chairman of NHS Resolution, said the price of negligence across the NHS remains 'the elephant in the room' despite the overall cost of harm for clinical negligence falling to £8.3 billion nationally – down from £9 billion in 2018-19.

He added: "We continue to play our part in reducing the cost of claims through actions to improve both patient safety and the way incidents and complaints are handled but, as a National Audit Office report published in 2017 concluded, any strategy to tackle the drivers of cost will need to include legal reform.

"We hope that through reform, a way can be found to significantly reduce the cost to the public purse at no detriment to justice."

Last year, the Medical Defence Union, which provides support and advice for doctors, dentists and other healthcare workers, warned the number of claims against the NHS could increase following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Michael Devlin, the union's head of professional standards and liaison, said: "Every example of negligence takes its toll on the patients and families involved, but the compensation being paid out puts enormous pressure on NHS funding, especially at a time when the NHS needs to recover from the pandemic."