Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust pledges to learn from £946,688 gynaecology negligence claims

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) has pledged to learn from a series of gynaecology medical negligence claims and pay-outs totalling almost £1 million.

Data has revealed 20 complaints against the trust, which provides services at the PAH in Harlow, Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford and St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping.

As a result of the reports to NHS Resolution, the legal arm of the NHS, PAHT has settled 12 gynaecology negligence claims with damages totalling £946,688 – not including NHS or claimant legal costs.

It is the highest amount paid out of all Hertfordshire and West Essex NHS trusts.

Sharon McNally, chief nurse at PAHT, said: “Patient safety is our absolute priority and we are committed to ensuring that our patients receive high-quality care and treatment.

“We apologise to the patients affected by these cases and have ensured that our learning from these incidents is part of our focus on continuous improvement.”

The findings come as a new report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) reveals women are left in “debilitating” pain for years, with more than 760,0000 on the waiting list for appointments due to a gynaecology care “crisis”.

In it, experts are calling for extra funding to speed up treatment.

The RCOG report adds: “Gynaecology has historically been perceived as less important in wider elective recovery, and this has resulted in an increasing number of complex cases, disease progression, emergency admissions and women living in pain and distress, all of which are preventable.”

Medical Negligence Assist’s investigation revealed that 272 claims lodged across the NHS for failure and delays in gynaecology-related diagnosis have cost £32.6m since 2019.