NHS boss says laywers who tout for business in hospitals cost £440m a year

Hospital mustn't collude with ambulance-chasing attorneys, the pinnacle of the NHS has warned.

Simon Stevens mentioned private damage claims corporations have been 'sucking' £440million a yr out of the Well being Service – sufficient to pay for 15,000 nurses.

He was reacting to proof gathered by the Each day Mail that 'no win no price' firms are being allowed to focus on sufferers inside hospitals. 

Addenbrooke's in Cambridge and Southampton Basic are even permitting them to rent workplace house in public concourses.

Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, mentioned private damage claims corporations have been 'sucking' £440million a yr out of the Well being Service – sufficient to pay for 15,000 nurses

Dozens of different hospitals take cash for permitting compensation corporations to promote on NHS-branded data leaflets in casualty models. 

Mr Stevens, who is chief govt of NHS England, mentioned the business offers have been corrosive.

He added: 'We want a way that we practise what we preach, that we don't have ambulance-chasing adverts in our A&E – these are issues we nonetheless have to get proper.

'Newest figures present that attorneys skimmed off for themselves almost 30 pence out of each pound that the NHS spent on compensating sufferers who skilled real hurt.

'The £440million a yr that regulation corporations are sucking out of NHS might in any other case have funded new affected person therapies and 15,000 extra nurses. Wherever potential let's hold attorneys out of hospital and medical doctors out of court docket.'

Dozens of hospitals take cash for permitting compensation corporations to promote on NHS-branded data leaflets in casualty models

Pledging motion, well being minister Lord Prior yesterday described the state of affairs as fully unacceptable.

'Litigation instances price the NHS greater than £1.5billion a yr and steerage clearly states that organisations mustn't let these firms promote of their buildings,' he mentioned.

Seven out of 17 NHS hospitals visited by the Mail have contracts to both promote or host private damage regulation corporations.

The NHS-branded leaflets, which offer fundamental recommendation for issues resembling head accidents and nostril bleeds, give sufferers cellphone numbers for 'no-win no-fee' corporations that specialize in medical blunders.

The offers forestall regulation corporations from suing the hospitals they're contracted with.

Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire, has been campaigning in opposition to promoting in hospitals for years

One set of NHS-branded leaflets, which a hospital in Dudley is paid £12,000 a yr to show, tells sufferers: 'There isn't a disgrace in making an trustworthy declare.'

For years hospitals have been warned in official steerage to not promote the companies of non-public damage attorneys. However many trusts, which have the facility to make their very own choices on business preparations, have ignored the steerage, which has no authorized pressure.

Hospitals in Birmingham, Dudley, Bristol and Merseyside show advertising and marketing supplies for private damage attorneys of their ready rooms, most frequently printed on the again of knowledge leaflets branded with NHS logos. Two advertising and marketing firms – BOE Publishing and Professional Imaginative and prescient Techniques – have greater than 300 contracts between them to provide leaflets to hospital websites, and promote promoting house on the leaflets.

Andrew Bridgen, Tory MP for North West Leicestershire, has been campaigning in opposition to the promoting offers for years. 

He mentioned: 'That is fully immoral. These hospitals are feeding the monster that's devouring it. They assume they've safeguards in place – that the businesses can't sue the hospitals they're coping with – but when they imagine these claims aren't being handed on to a different get together, they're residing in dream land.'

WE'RE A CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE POWERHOUSE, BOAST LAWYERS 

ADDENBROOKE'S, CAMBRIDGE: Barr Ellison solicitors is located in the primary concourse at Addenbrooke's, between M&S and Burger King. The agency describes itself as a 'scientific negligence powerhouse'. It boasts its hospital department, one in all solely two, places it 'in direct contact with the individuals who want us most'. Cambridge College Hospitals Belief mentioned: 'They don't take any instances in opposition to the belief.' A spokesman for Barr Ellison claimed its foremost function was to serve the 14,000 staff on the hospital.

SOUTHAMPTON GENERAL: Posters within the A&E ready room direct sufferers to Kiteleys Solicitors, which has an workplace subsequent to the hospital canteen. The posters say: 'We will help you declare compensation. Come and see us at our workplace within the hospital. No win, no price!' Kiteleys specialises in damage claims, however doesn't settle for claims in opposition to the hospital. A spokesman for the belief mentioned Kiteleys supplied 'handy authorized companies, together with will writing'. Mark Kitely, chief govt of the agency, insisted many of the work on the department associated to property and personal shopper work.

RUSSELLS HALL HOSPITAL, DUDLEY: The hospital belief is paid £12,000 a yr to show affected person data leaflets in its A&E unit. The NHS-branded leaflets carry adverts for the ASYST private damage line, which say: 'There isn't a disgrace in making an trustworthy declare.' Dr Paul Harrison, chief govt of the belief, mentioned the cash had been spent on the relations room. ASYST didn't reply to requests for remark.

HEARTLANDS HOSPITAL, BIRMINGHAM: Racks of NHS-branded leaflets give recommendation about illnesses, aches and pains. On the reverse are adverts for Freeclaim Compensation Solicitors. A belief spokesman mentioned it was reviewing the contract.

 

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