What is the difference between poor care and negligent care?

Negligent care is when medical professionals make mistakes or fail in their duty of care to you, leading to injury or making an existing condition worse. There are a number of ways that medical negligence can happen, such as misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment or surgical mistakes. Poor care is when treatment is falls short of meeting the test to prove negligence.

What are my human rights in maternity care?

The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone against discrimination and harassment. It recognises nine ‘protected characteristics’: age, disability, gender reassignment (that is, if you are transgender), marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. It also means that it is unlawful for NHS organisations or individual caregivers within the NHS to discriminate against people on the basis of these characteristics.

This does not mean that everyone should get exactly the same care. Under the law, treating someone equally can mean that someone should be given extra support, for example, being provided with an interpreter, in order to put them in the same position as other people who are having a baby. In summary, the key rights are as follows: • You have a right to receive safe and appropriate maternity care and every woman has a right to maternity care that respects their fundamental human dignity.

• You have a right to privacy and confidentiality.

• You are free to make choices about their own pregnancy and childbirth, even if their caregivers do not agree with them.

• Everyone has a right to equality and freedom from discrimination.

What can I do if I feel like my human rights have been violated??

If you feel that you have experienced bias or discrimination as a result of your race or any other protected characteristic as set out above, you should complain to the PALS service at the Hospital to address the issue and then seek legal advice if you are not happy with the outcome.

What is a negligence claim?

To win a claim in medical negligence, a Claimant has to prove that firstly the care which was provided fell below an acceptable standard (this is called “breach of duty”) and secondly that the substandard care caused an injury or injuries (this is called “causation”). Both elements have to be proven; it is not enough to only establish one.

With regard to the standard expected of Doctors, Nurses and Midwives, the standard is not one of perfection but rather what would be expected of a reasonably competent practitioner and would represent treatment supported by all reasonably competent practitioners.

With hindsight, it is sometimes possible to see how and when things may have been done differently but in judging medical negligence, the Court looks at the information available to the Doctor or Midwife at that time and judges his/her actions against what other reasonably competent practitioners would have done. If some practitioners would agree with the treatment provided at that time, then you will not succeed with your claim unless you can prove that that decision was illogical in some way.

I've already made a formal complaint to the NHS, can I also make a claim for negligence?

If you are unhappy about the treatment you received, you should make a formal complaint to the Hospital, GP surgery or clinic as soon as possible. A complaint should lead to an investigation by the Hospital and a formal response, sometimes with an apology. This is not the same as an admission of liability.

In order to make a claim in negligence, you have 3 years from the date of the incident or treatment or the date you became aware of injury caused by that treatment, to bring your claim in Court. You should seek legal advice from a specialist solicitor and if you are successful in a medical negligence claim, you will be awarded compensation for your injuries.