NHS PAYS OUT RECORD £45M FOR FAILING TO SPOT CANCER
The NHS paid out a record £45m to cancer patients in 2024 for failing to catch the disease early enough.
The amount paid in damages because of missed cancer diagnoses has almost quadrupled since the Covid pandemic, figures show.
In the four years since the pandemic, there have been almost 1,500 cancer compensation payouts worth a total of £179m, compared with £55m for 580 claims in the previous four years.
In 2024-25, the total compensation paid to hospital patients where the NHS admitted it was at fault for not spotting the disease earlier increased to £44.7m.
There were also a record 364 payouts for such mistakes – the equivalent of one person having cancer misdiagnosed or missed altogether every day.
Suzanne Trask, of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said: “Compensation is only paid when negligence is admitted or proved, in other words, when the failures could and should have been avoided.”
She said the delays “can lead to devastating and even fatal consequences for patients”.
“Some are forced to undergo more invasive, life-changing treatment than would have been necessary with a timely and correct diagnosis,” Ms Trask said.
“Others face a much worse prognosis and lower chances of long-term survival. There needs to be an overarching strategy to tackle negligent failures in NHS care, with a focus on learning lessons so that mistakes are not repeated, and more patients do not suffer unnecessary harm.”
Patients can sue for negligence if doctors have misinterpreted medical data such as scan results, biopsies or blood tests that later transpire to be serious.
However, cases can also be brought if there was a delay in making a diagnosis because of administrative mistakes or general hospital delays.
The compensation for patients whose cancer was missed averages around £120,000 per case.
People who were forced to undergo severe and life-changing treatment when an earlier diagnosis might have allowed them less intensive care will receive more.
The figures, which were released by NHS Resolution under freedom of information laws, showed that in some years the biggest payments to patients whose cancer was misdiagnosed were in excess of £1m.
It also revealed that in 2024 there were 1,950 cases where a failure to diagnose a problem or a delay in making a diagnosis of any condition led to a compensation payout.
These settlements are also on the increase and cost the NHS £391m in damages.
Costs ‘because of delays’
The total clinical negligence bill has increased to around £3bn, sparking debate about the involvement of no-win no-fee lawyers earning significant sums from the taxpayer and often more than the patient making the claim.
Lawyers argue that the costs are because of delays in resolving claims.
MPs in the Public Accounts Committee are scrutinising the current arrangements and the fact that patients are able to seek remedial treatment on the NHS for free.
There are three key NHS targets on cancer care: to diagnose or rule out cancer in at least 75 per cent of cases within 28 days of an urgent referral; for at least 96 per cent of patients to begin treatment within 31 days of deciding a plan on how to treat the cancer; and for at least 85 per cent of patients to have begun treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral for suspected cancer.
Figures published on Thursday revealed that the first target was met in October 2025 with 76.1 per cent of patients getting a diagnosis within four weeks, although the target is set to be increased to 80 per cent from March 2026.
However, just 68.8 per cent of cancer patients began treatment within two months of an urgent referral – a target that has been missed for 10 years – while 92.5 per cent began treatment within 31 days of a decision on how to treat the cancer.
An NHS England spokesman said: “Finding out that you or a loved one has cancer is always incredibly difficult, but it is vital that the diagnosis is made as soon as possible and we’re sorry to those who didn’t receive prompt diagnoses.
“The NHS is focused on catching cancers at an early stage when they are easier to treat, with record numbers of people receiving a cancer check, but we are determined to go further through the new National Cancer Plan which we are developing with government.”
2025-12-13T09:05:39Z
