What is clinical negligence?
No one expects to be injured in an accident at hospital, their GP surgery or in an ambulance. While most healthcare is delivered successfully by dedicated and caring professionals, sometimes things sadly do go wrong. If the medical team looking after you is negligent in their care, causing you harm as a result, this is classed as medical or clinical negligence.
This type of negligence can be caused by a range of healthcare professionals GPs, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and midwives can all be negligent in the care they provide. The negligence need not be a major, single incident such as poor operating technique or a single obvious cause. Seemingly simple errors and administrative confusion, poor record keeping or failure to adhere to practices and procedures can have a cumulative and ultimately catastrophic impact. Clinical negligence can occur in any area of healthcare.
Some examples of clinical negligence include:
- Misdiagnosis or a failure to diagnose a condition
- Mistakes made during surgery, a medical procedure or an operation
- Delay in providing treatment or providing the wrong treatment
- Failure to provide information about any risks that come with treatment and to obtain informed consent
The impact of an avoidable accident in healthcare is often far greater than in any other setting. The pain and suffering caused can, in some cases, be life-long and life-changing.
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