NEW SOUTH WALES:  HUNTER New England Health has paid out almost $50million in taxpayer funds over the past three years for medical mistakes ranging from emergency department failures to major obstetrics blunders.

Among eight multimillion-dollar payouts was an $11.2million settlement for obstetrics negligence made in the past financial year.  Another obstetrics and gynaecology case cost $8.4million while a pathology error cost $4.3million.

Documents obtained under the Government Information (Public Access) Act show 115 negligence claims were completed at an average cost of $431,282.

They cover areas including emergency medicine, nursing, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedic surgery, neurology and plastic surgery.

The payments, made from Treasury-Managed Funds, reflect a growing trend among aggrieved patients who are choosing to sue when they experience an adverse outcome.

‘‘People are saying I don’t accept what you did and you need to be accountable. It’s not about the money,’’ Medical Error Action Group founder Lorraine Long said.

‘‘I don’t think people are more litigious, but I think they are more aware of their rights.’’

Specific case details could not be obtained, however, typical medical negligence claims relate to incorrect diagnosis, incorrect treatment and procedural and surgical errors.

Ms Long said many people who were forced to pursue their claim over a period of years became victims of secondary trauma.

‘‘It can take seven to eight years in some cases and they [doctors and health services] fight you tooth and nail and run up huge expenses in the process,’’ she said.

‘‘The compensation is really just reimbursement for the money they [the patients] have outlaid.’’

SOURCE:  Newcastle Herald, by Matthew Kelly, 31.05.2015

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3115592/medical-errors-cost-taxpayers-50m/?cs=305