We focus on the prescription of Nitrofurantoin - exploring the risks associated with prescribing the drug long-term, medication error claims and an overview of the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice.

We're pleased to be ranked in the 2023 edition of The Legal 500 UK, including 13 Top Tier practice areas....

At Hill Dickinson we have dealt with numerous clinical negligence claims concerning the management of diabetic patients, at both a primary and secondary care level. We know full well the cost to the patient and the NHS.  A report by Diabetes UK in 2014 estimated that the NHS’ annual spend on diabetes was approximately 10% of the NHS budget and would reach £16.9 billion by 2035/36.  It also concluded that almost 4/5ths of the NHS diabetes spend was directed to treating diabetic complications that in many cases could have been prevented.

On 31 March 2022 the Mental Health Units (Use of force) Act 2018 (‘Seni’s Law’) came into force. The Act is the culmination of many years’ campaigning following the death of Seni Lewis, an IT graduate who died aged 23 after being restrained on a mental health unit by 11 police officers. At the inquest into his death, the jury found Seni died as a result of excessive, disproportionate and unreasonable restraint and force.

In Astley v Mid-Cheshire Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust [2022] EWHC 337 (QB), Mr Justice Eyre, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, refused the Claimant’s application, pursuant to CPR Part 38.7, for permission to bring the same claim against the Defendant, after discontinuance 16 years earlier. A key issue was whether the intervening decision in Bailey v Ministry of Defence [2008] represented a change in the law, with Mr Justice Eyre concluding it did not. 

Full service commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has welcomed three new partners to its UK offices in recent weeks as it gears up for a busy year ahead.

Earlier this year, the Health and Social Care Committee released its report on The Safety of Maternity Services in England. The report outlined recommendations in respect of funding, learning and clinical negligence claims arising out of maternity care. The committee’s report focused on improving safety of maternity services and the ongoing National Maternity Safety Ambition to halve the number of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, brain injuries and investigations by 2025. The government’s progress against the four key commitments for maternity services was reviewed and given an overall verdict of ‘requires improvement’ by the committee. 

[Robinson -v- (1) An NHS Trust and (2) Dr Mercier]

Leading health law firm Hill Dickinson has advised Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (SRFT) on its acquisition of three additional hospital sites from Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (PAHT).

The Health and Social Care Committee’s report on the safety of maternity services in England makes recommendations in respect of funding, learning and clinical negligence claims arising out of maternity care.