The Spire Healthcare court case has now come to a conclusion after the group was reportedly told to pay a total of £20,104.36, £5,000 of which was a fine, according to Leeds Live. The Care Quality Commission, which is understood to have never taken an independent healthcare provider to court before, pursued Spire Healthcare with legal action over allegations that the provider had allegedly delayed telling patients that they had been subjected to potentially negligent care.
The court case was not related to the medical negligence itself, but the case did concern Spire Healthcare’s reported failure to act upon the failings in patient treatment carried out by Michael Walsh, a former surgeon at the company.
As specialists in medical negligence, it always triggers alarm bells for us when we hear that negligent treatment may have been covered up or played down. Healthcare organisations have a duty to thoroughly scrutinise any suspicions of malpractice, or they could be responsible for letting patients down and putting them at risk. We are pleased to see that the Care Quality Commission has taken successful legal action in this case.
Spire Healthcare incidents
Spire Healthcare has already been associated with negligent practitioners in the past, with former doctors Habib Rahman and Ian Paterson both being subjected to reviews after they were accused of carrying out unnecessary and harmful surgery. Paterson has since been found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent, and we can represent clients for cases in either scenario.
More recently, surgeon Michael Walsh, a former upper limb orthopaedic consultant with Spire Healthcare, is understood to have performed harmful procedures on patients, who have since been left in more pain and have required further reparative surgery.
It is understood that Walsh himself is yet to be taken to court, but the Spire Healthcare court case has seen the organisation itself subjected to scrutiny.
Spire Healthcare court case verdict
The Spire Healthcare court case has indicated that Spire was apparently aware that the concerns surrounding Walsh’s treatment constituted incidents that required notification some months prior to letters being sent to patients. The delay was deemed unacceptable by the Care Quality Commission, with the head of hospital inspection commenting that “Spire Hospital Leeds was not transparent or open with regards to what happened”.
As a result of its failures in this case, Spire Healthcare has been fined £5,000, as well as being instructed to pay almost £15,000 in court costs. In response, the healthcare provider accepted that it had not notified people as promptly as it should have done.
Claiming compensation for medical negligence
The Spire Healthcare court case has demonstrated how vital it is for healthcare providers to support patients properly where medical negligence has occurred. However, where your doctors or healthcare providers do let you down, you may be able to make a medical negligence claim.
Our team of specialist solicitors have been representing victims in group actions and medical negligence claims for several years, so we have expert knowledge to help you get the compensation you deserve. If you are considering making a claim, you can contact us for free, no-obligation advice today on your potential eligibility.
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