Rising number of misdiagnosis claims for Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust 'part of nationwide trend'
New figures have been released showing the level of misdiagnosis claims for Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust.
The data obtained by https://www.medicalnegligenceassist.co.uk/misdiagnosis-claims found that, since 2019, patients have lodged 40 claims against Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust following a misdiagnosis.
The joint-lowest number of claims came in 2019/20, when six claims were made against the Trust.
Two years later, this number increased to nine claims.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has seen the number of claims rise over the past year compared to 2022/23, with a total of 12.
Of those claims regarding misdiagnoses lodged between 2019 and 2024 against the Trust, ten were settled.
Gareth Lloyd, medical negligence solicitor for JF Law, which owns the Medical Negligence Assist brand, said: “Misdiagnosis is an all-embracing clinical negligence case type and covers a wide range of clinical situations from the simple diagnosis of a fracture to potentially fatal cancer diagnoses.
“These cases can sometimes be a matter of life and death.”
Medical Negligence Assist also obtained figures on how much Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust has paid out to misdiagnosis claims since 2019.
Over the past five years, the trust has paid out a total of £21,663, with the highest amount coming in 2023/24, standing at £16,579.
Based on figures gathered by NHS Resolution, the official organisation which specialises in resolving concerns and disputes within the NHS, a total of 8,067 claims have been lodged against Trusts nationally for misdiagnosis in the past five years, with 5,677 of these settled
With an overstretched NHS, increasing patient numbers, and mounting pressures on staff, misdiagnoses are becoming more common nationwide.
According to NHS Resolution, diagnostic errors contribute approximately 20% of all clinical negligence claims with two consistent failings identified, one of which is diagnostic errors, particularly early incorrect diagnoses of soft-tissue injuries.
Medical Negligence Assist offers support to patients who may have suffered harm as a result of a misdiagnosis and can see if they have grounds to submit a claim
They operate a 24-hour helpline and claim online form, which you can access on their website.