NHS medical negligence liabilities hit £60bn as maternity payments rise sharply | NHS

The NHS’s total medical negligence liability stands at £60 billion, driven by a rise in birth injury cases, which on average cost more than £11 million each to settle.

The total amount the health service in England may have to pay to settle claims over staff errors has quadrupled from £14.4 billion in 2006-07, due to more compensation claims and rising legal costs.

The cost of settling clinical negligence litigation has risen from £1.1bn to £3.6bn over the same period, with much of this increase attributed to babies suffering brain damage at birth.

The figures are contained in a National Audit Office (NAO) report which called on NHS bosses to do more to prevent the damage.

The £60 billion liability identified by the NAO is an increase on the The House of Commons Budget Committee (PAC) put the figure at £58.2 billion in May.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP and chairman of the PAC, said the £60bn bill was “astonishing”.

“This is the second largest burden on the entire government [after public sector pensions] and forecasts indicate that these costs could continue to rise significantly,” he said.

In 2024-25, GP services accounted for the majority of cases handled by the NHS, 2,914. However, while there were fewer obstetric cases in which a child suffered cerebral palsy or other brain damage – 1,016 – they were very costly to resolve.

Claims costs £1.6bn, more than four times that of the next most expensive type of injury – “Other” (£337m) – and pediatrics (£325m).

“Despite progress in reducing the number of clinical negligence claims in some specialties, the rising costs of the small number of very high compensation claims are resulting in higher costs for taxpayers,” said Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO.

Settling maternity claims costs an average of £11.2m per person, the NAO has revealed. It also disclosed the following:

• The bill for negligence is expected to reach £4.1 billion in 2029-30

• The number of settled cases more than doubled from 5,625 in 2006-07 to 13,329 in 2024-25

• The total number of settlements fell in eleven specialties but increased in six others

“The cost of clinical negligence claims has risen at an unacceptable rate – billions that should have been spent on frontline services,” a ministry said Health and a social care spokesman said.

“From overhauling our broken safety landscape to tackling the serious problems facing obstetric care, this administration is tackling this problem and taking the decisive action patients and taxpayers deserve.”

“Our 10-year health plan makes it clear that patient safety is the foundation of a healthy NHS and we are working to ensure we reduce the incidents that lead to claims.”

Meanwhile, the total cost of repairing hospitals in England has risen to almost £16 billion, NHS figures show.

The revelation prompted NHS leaders to warn that patients were being put at risk by “dilapidated” buildings which in some cases were “literally falling to pieces”.

The cost of repairing and properly maintaining the NHS hospital stock has risen to £15.9bn from £13.8bn last year – a rise of 16%, according to the NHS’s annual legacy returns data set.

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of hospital charity NHS Providers, said: “Critical parts of the NHS are literally falling apart after years of underinvestment at a national level. The safety of patients and staff is at risk.”

“We cannot continue to waste money renovating aging buildings that no longer serve their purpose.”

Siva Anandaciva, director of policy at think tank King’s Fund, said the £15.9 billion figure was “more than the entire capital budget for this year and £2.2 billion more than last year”.

“Derelict NHS buildings have a real and damaging impact on patient care, with flooded corridors, reduced theater capacity and roofs at risk of collapse,” he added.