P51: Dermatological litigation in NHS England

John English

Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, UK

The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why dermatologists get sued. Freedom-of-information requests were analysed from the National Health Service (NHS) Litigation Authority from 2000 to 2020, and a review of all the medicolegal reports undertaken by the author in 2021. In NHS England, there has been an increase from 25 cases in 2000 to 70 in 2020. This compares favourably with other similar-sized specialties such as otorhinolaryngology (140 in 2020) and ophthalmology (250 in 2020). The average value of successful claims in dermatology has remained at approximately £40 000 since 2000. However, there has been nearly a 10-fold increase in the claimants’ legal costs, with the NHS’s legal defence costs remaining constant. The main reasons for litigation is delay in diagnosis, usually of skin cancers, and also of inflammatory skin diseases, and medication errors such as poor monitoring of immunosuppressant medication. Of the 70 cases reported by the NHS Litigation Authority in 2020 there is no information on how many were successful, but from my own caseload of 25 medical negligence cases in 2021, 15 (60%) are likely to be successful. It is reassuring that there were only 70 dermatological medical legal cases in NHS England during 2020, given the huge workload of dermatologists. These data do not include private patient or cosmetic dermatological litigation. This knowledge should reassure the majority of dermatologists and help inform improved practice to reduce the chances of litigation even further.

Funding sources: the author has received fees from instructing solicitors.