Consultation on Recommendations for No-Fault Compensation in Scotland for Injuries Resulting from Clinical Treatment

1. Introduction

1.1 The consultation on the possible content of a Patient Rights (Scotland) Bill undertaken in 2008 indicated that no-fault compensation was the Scottish Government's favoured way forward for the NHS in Scotland. The consultation paper also acknowledged the need for further work on the practical implications and potential costs of any such change in compensation arrangements and made it clear that the Scottish Government would explore the potential benefits for patients in Scotland of a no-fault compensation scheme before taking any firm decision on future arrangements.

1.2 The No-fault Compensation Review Group was established in 2009 to consider the potential benefits for patients in Scotland of a no-fault compensation scheme and whether such a scheme should be introduced alongside the existing clinical negligence arrangements. The Group's Report⁶, published in February 2011, set out its view on the essential criteria for a compensation scheme and recommended that consideration should be given to the establishment of a no fault scheme for medical injury, along the lines of the system in operation in Sweden.

1.3 This consultation seeks your views on the Review Group's recommendations, which go wider than the NHS, to help inform our consideration of whether a no-fault scheme should be introduced and, if so, what the extent and scope of such a scheme should be.

1.4 The vast majority of the care delivered in our NHS is of the highest quality, but it is important that people who have suffered as a result of clinical treatment should have some form of redress.

1.5 The Scottish Government is of the view that appropriate redress should not be delayed because a compensation claim can take years to go through the courts nor should precious NHS resources be spent on expensive legal fees.