Negligence research

Claims for clinical negligence are on the rise. Last year the NHS litigation authority for England and Wales received 5025 claims costing the NHS £385 million in settlement and legal costs. With potential liabilities estimated at £4.1 billion by the Department of Health a team at the University of Dundee is taking action to identify how these potential risks can be minimised to save the NHS millions.

Dr Ian Chapman in the department of medical physics is leading the UK team in a 0.5 million European project called MORPH with teams in Bulgaria, Ireland and Poland to identify trends and practices in risk management. The group will be looking at risk management in healthcare institutions acrossEurope and with their findings producing video footage, interactive DVDs and websites to train health care professionals in minimising liability.

Ian has led four investigative programmes for the EU since 1992. He explains: "The UK is one of the most advanced nations in implementing schemes and standards to reduce risk in the healthcare sector. We need to share our knowledge and procedures with countries like Bulgaria and Poland if they are to minimise costs to their health care sectors."

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