Margaret McCartney: The NHS can't afford more litigation.

Abstract

Things go wrong in the NHS every day. Complaints to the General Medical Council by the public rose from 3858 in 2010 to 5808 in 2014.1 The NHS Litigation Authority has, compared with last year, nearly doubled the money it sets aside for future claims to £56.4bn (€65.9bn; $73.6bn), having paid out £1.4bn in the past year.2 (The NHS annual budget is £116bn.3) Doctors are encouraged to be honest about errors that cause harm: this ethical position predated duty of candour, which legally requires doctors to do this (it’s likely to become law in Scotland, too). To prevent avoidable mistakes we must be …