Hospital dramas show claims not in script
It has been revealed that televised hospital dramas and soaps are leading patient’s families to expect medical ‘miracles,’ according to a medical conference.
The nursing meeting, held at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Bournemouth, also alleged that accident claims were encouraging these unrealistic hopes.
Figures released by the National Health Service Litigation, displayed that the NHS spent £807 million in settling compensation claims in 2008/09, which jumped from £661 million in 2007.
As a result, nurses stated that they feared being sued and warned that such worries could influence people to leave the profession and make it more difficult to recruit trainee nurses in the future.
RCN representatives also supported these fears that litigation claims could drive nurses from the profession.
Jane Bovey, a nurse from Wiltshire, told the conference: “I’m concerned that nurses will be afraid to continue in this profession.
“I’m also afraid that we will fail to recruit future nurses as the fear of litigation will be so that they will question their decision.”
There were 8,885 clinical and non medical negligence claims made in 2008/09, although less than one in 20 of these go to court. The rise has been blamed on media related programmes.
John Hill, a nurse from Scunthorpe, told RCN’s yearly conference: “In A&E it is sometimes a fact that sadly we cannot get people through the trauma they have received.
“Unfortunately, unlike in Holby City, I am a mere mortal and cannot perform miracles. But many relatives believe because of that, you can.”
Future worries for the health of hospitals
Therefore, hospital employees are worried that rising no win no fee claims could negatively affect the service, and in addition to cuts due to the financial downturn, experts are worried about the future state of hospitals.
Marcia Turnham, a nurse from Cambridgeshire, warned that patient care was being compromised because nurses were spending so much time documenting their actions, to protect themselves in the case of future litigation.
She stated: “One of the main concerns is that there's too much documentation associated with the care we have to give.
“A big part of that is those documents associated with indemnity insurance for the trust. Every time a patient is admitted it can take a nurse 40 minutes to fill in the paperwork. That's time that a nurse could be spending with the patient.”
Howard Catton, head of policy with the RCN, agreed that there was a problem and said that the fear of being sued could lead nurses to become “defensive”.
He commented: “People talk about being risk averse in their practice to the point of becoming defensive. There is a consequence that through becoming defensive you don’t move forward and you don’t improve.”Updated on 10/05/2010