Hospital trusts across the county have paid out more than £38million in compensation due to surgery error claims.

New NHS data has revealed nearly 300 cases have been settled in Kent since 2019 with common cases being a result of delayed treatment and diagnosis.

Between 2019 and 2024 a total of £38,153,105 was paid out across 282 cases.

These incidents occurred at hospitals being managed by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, Medway NHS Foundation Trust and East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

The data was obtained by Medical Negligence Assist, a company providing legal support to victims of medical errors, following freedom of information requests sent to NHS Resolution, the body which oversees clinical negligence claims.

In the last five years, East Kent Hospitals Trust has paid out £11.2m in total compensation to victims but has seen a drop in claims from a peak of 31 in 2020/21 to 17 last year.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust followed closely behind, paying £10,907,625 in damages across 80 claims.

This is followed by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust who paid out £9,433,311 in damages to victims across 52 claims.

However, data for the year 2023/2024 has not been given for this trust as disclosing low figures – in this case, less than five claims – could lead to the identification of individuals involved and are therefore are exempt from the FOI.

Over the last five years, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust have cost the NHS the least, paying £6,525,882 across 63 cases.

According to Medical Negligence Assist, surgical errors are unexpected mistakes or accidents that occur during procedures and they are classed as “never events” as they are errors that should not have happened in surgery.

Common surgery errors can include foreign objects left in the body, including medical instruments and cleaning materials, as well as wrong site surgery where patients can be put at a greater risk of infection and additional scarring.

We deeply regret when we fall short of the high standards of patient care we aim to provide

The group says these mistakes can have significant physical, emotional and financial consequences for patients as they may require additional treatment and suffer even more pain.

Nationally, the top reasons for claims are failed or delayed treatment and diagnoses, intra-op problems and inappropriate treatment.

In many cases, this resulted in unnecessary pain and in some, even fatalities.

In a joint statement, the health bodies said: “On behalf of all NHS Trusts in Kent and Medway, we deeply regret when we fall short of the high standards of patient care we aim to provide.”

“Every patient safety incident is carefully reviewed and we actively share the lessons learned to ensure continuous improvements in the quality of our services and the care we deliver.

“While the likelihood of a surgical error occurring is very low, every procedure carries inherent risks, and when things go wrong, we take all necessary steps to prevent it from happening again.

“We are committed to delivering safe and effective services and working with staff to improve patient care.”

The spokesperson added all hospital trusts in the country contribute to a central fund called the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts which is administered by NHS Resolution

Claims in any given year will often relate to incidents that have occurred many years prior but due to the nature of them and the level of investigation needed to bring them to a resolution, they may take years to settle and close.