We are delighted to confirm that Wendy Davies will be joining our accounts department next month. We will be saying goodbye to Karla-Marie Roberts who leaves us to join her sister’s family business. More on Karla’s time at Barratts to follow.

We are delighted to announce that Alison Brooks, head of our Clinical Negligence Department, was invited to become an Honorary member of AvMA. This was “in recognition of her work on behalf of injured patients and their families and her longstanding and continuing contribution in the fields of clinical negligence and patient safety.” The certificate runs until December 2019 so Alison has plenty of time to continue the fight for patient safety and support of AvMA.

AvMA was established in 1982 aftere public response to a TV programme about medical accidents. It is the leading patients’ charity so we are especially proud of Alison’s achievement, which is the result of over 30 years spent acting on behalf of injured patients.

Alison began her career defending doctors but, after qualifying as a solicitor, she decided to help those affected by medical negligence. One of her 1st cases involved a young boy with Cerebral Palsy. He was one of the first claimants in the UK to receive a guaranteed annual income from the NHS to pay for his future care needs. She was even invited to speak to Claimant lawyers, at a conference in Australia, about using compensation to guarantee annual payments. It is still part of our advice for clients today. Alison has taken many cases to trial over the years and knows how stressful this is for our clients. Her ability to put clients at ease and to reassure them is vital in the job we do.

We asked Alison what she recalls about clinical negligence in the 1980’s. Cases would go to trial without any disclosure of expert reports, which meant that neither side would know what the medical experts had to say about the case. The exchange of reports well before trial is obviously one change for the better!

Alison has also been involved in many inquests over 30 years, which are an opportunity to get answers for clients in a less intimidating setting. It can highlight lessons to be learned from medical mistakes. This is still as vital today as it was 30 years ago. The ethos of AvMA and our own approach to clinical negligence is to look beyond the financial compensation; Alison’s work has involved the support of families, seeking answers, in a caring environment. She remains committed to ensuring access to justice and improvement of patient safety for all.

Here is what the Charity sent to us:

“Guided by our incredible NHS staff, your donation will provide a level of patient care beyond that which NHS funding alone can offer, and so you will be helping patients and their families at a time when they need the most support.

You are helping to provide vital support for patients, their families and the staff who care for them in the Spinal Cord Injury Centre and the Northern General Hospital.

Together, our challenge is to support staff to deliver the best care and treatment they can for patients and families today, in the most modern facilities and with the most up-to-date equipment, and to give their researchers the opportunity to make ground breaking discoveries that will advance patient care and give hope to future patients.

With your support, Sheffield Hospitals Charity can help your doctors and nurses provide the best medical care possible. Just a few examples of the amazing things people like you have made possible for patients with spinal injuries and their families include:

The very first ‘Ekso’ exoskeleton for an NHS hospital supports rehabilitation for patients who are paralysed with spinal cord injuries. This incredible piece of equipment is a bionic suit that allows patients to experience standing and walking again, and to move on two feet, sometimes after many years in a wheelchair.

A reclining cross trainer for the physiotherapy gym that allows both arms and legs to be exercised at the same time. This increases muscle strength, range of movement and improves fitness, meaning that patients are able to engage better with their rehabilitation. Using a reclining cross trainer also helps people to re-learn how to stand and walk following a spinal injury.

A specialist Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) exercise bike which performs an important rehabilitation technique for spinal injury patients. The bike applies a small electrical current to paralysed or weakened muscles in the legs, which reduces muscle spasm, improves strength and range of movement and also increases circulation.

Please do get in touch with me, or any member of the team, if you have any questions about our work or about the charity in general, and please feel free to pass on my details to your friends and neighbours if you think the charity would be of interest. You can contact us on 0114 271 1351 or email charity@shct.nhs.uk.

As always, you can visit us online at sheffieldhospitalscharity.org.uk and on social media (you can find us on both Facebook and Twitter) to keep up with our latest events and appeals.”

The Charity also have a leaflet (available as a pdf file) which can be sent by email to anyone interested in their work.

Fixed Fees For Lower Value Cases

This could affect cases as large as £250,000. It has the potential to create a David and Goliath future with Insurers able to fund cases and claimants purse strings restricted. We are proud of our justice system and hope that genuine claimants will still be able to get the right advice and compensation if fixed fees are introduced.

NHSLA Mediation Scheme To Be Extended

There has been an NHS pilot scheme, focussing on elderly care and fatal claims, which tries to settle cases in a less adversarial way by using mediation. So far, both patients and clinicians thought it encouraged resolution with about 80% of the cases settled this way. We do not yet know how well it will work in higher value or more complex cases. Mediation also gave families a “voice” as well as an explanation and apology if appropriate. We welcome any move to speed up clinical negligence cases so long as clients remain properly compensated and represented.

Discount Rate for Future Losses To Be Announced

On 31st January 2017, the Government will set the new discount rate. This is a figure which determines the calulation of future losses in personal injury and clinical negligence cases. For clients with high annual costs this rate can make an enormous difference to the total compensation awarded.
Thanks go to the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), which threatened legal proceedings when nothing had been announced by the Government 4 years after the consultation ended.We hope that when the new rate is announced next year it will ensure future clients receive the right amount for their long term needs.

If you need impartial advice about any of these developments please contact our Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence and Court of Protection teams to discuss how this might affect you.