title: NHS litigation in bariatric surgery over a ten year period.
abstract: Negligence claims in the UK NHS has increased over the last 30 years. The aim of this present study was determine the number of claims and the cost of litigation in Bariatric Surgery and compare it to similar other specialties. Data was received from NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) in response to Freedom of Information data request. There was a total of 7 claims, of which 4 were successful. The total pay out sum was £210,000 in 10 years. This is a very low amount compared to other surgical specialties. This low level of litigation probably indicates that the current bariatric surgical services in the NHS are delivering safe care with good patient satisfaction. This needs to be carefully considered prior to changing the payment tariffs for bariatric surgery.
authors.affiliation: Ashford and St Peter's Hospital, Guildford Rd, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0PZ, UK. Electronic address: Kumaran95@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Kumaran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ratnasingham
authors.affiliation: Royal Surrey County Hospital, Egerton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XX, UK.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.affiliation: Royal Surrey County Hospital, Egerton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XX, UK.
authors.forename: Mamie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Royal Surrey County Hospital, Egerton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XX, UK.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karatsai
authors.affiliation: Ashford and St Peter's Hospital, Guildford Rd, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0PZ, UK.
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Humadi
authors.affiliation: Ashford and St Peter's Hospital, Guildford Rd, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0PZ, UK.
authors.forename: Shashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Irukulla
mesh_terms: D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035881:Compensation and Redress / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013043:Specialties, Surgical / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Bariatric surgery; General surgery; NHS litigation; Upper GI surgery