Four medical trusts across Kent and Medway have paid out a combined £7million in damages for gynaecology medical negligence claims lodged against them.

New NHS data has revealed 75 claims, related to incidents ranging from unnecessary pain to bladder damage and advanced stage cancer, have been settled in the county since 2019.

In the last five years, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has paid out £4,232,863, settling 33 gynaecology medical negligence claims. This is the highest amount out of all Trusts in Kent.

However, of these 23 cases pertain to Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup and are legacy cases the Trust inherited after the dissolution of the South London Healthcare Trust, which was broken up after going bust.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has forked out £1,288,874 in damages, settling 27 claims of medical negligence related to gynaecology care in its facilities.

However, in the last five years, the Trust has had 55 claims reported to NHS Resolution, the body which oversees clinical negligence claims.

Medway NHS Foundation has paid out £1,226,790 since 2019 to settle 10 claims, however there have been 24 claims reported to NHS Resolution.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust paid out the lowest sum of £184,888 in compensation, settling five claims. None of these figures include NHS legal costs or claimant costs.

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.

According to the firm, causes of claims included failure to act on abnormal test results, failed sterilisation and problems mid operation.

Another common cause was “failure to warn – informed consent” which includes instances where a patient is not made fully aware of the details and risks of a procedure or treatment and has not knowingly consented.

Across the NHS, 3,739 gynaecology medical negligence claims and incidents have been reported to NHS Resolution since 2019.

The findings come amid a new report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

It revealed that women are being left in “debilitating” pain for years, with more than 760,0000 on the waiting list for appointments due to a “gynaecology care crisis.”

It found that 76 percent of women on waiting lists said their mental health had worsened, while 69 percent struggled with daily activities, including work.

Experts are calling for extra funding from the government to speed up treatment.

The report states: “Gynaecology has historically been perceived as less important in wider elective recovery, and this has resulted in an increasing number of complex cases, disease progression, emergency admissions and women living in pain and distress, all of which are preventable.”

Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: “A way forward is urgently needed to tackle the UK gynaecology crisis.

“NHS staff are also deeply concerned and distressed that they do not have the necessary resources to deliver good care, affecting their own well-being.

“Get it right for women and everyone benefits...”

“The UK government must act now. The RCOG is calling on them to commit to long-term sustained funding to address the systemic issues driving waiting lists, alongside delivering an urgent support package for those currently on waiting lists.

“The investment will not only benefit thousands of individual women but the wider economy too, because the evidence shows that healthy women are the cornerstone of healthy societies.

“Get it right for women and everyone benefits.”

All hospital trusts in England contribute to a central fund called the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, administered by NHS Resolution.

Due to the nature of such claims, and the level of investigation required, it is not unusual for many to take years to settle.

As such they are not guaranteed to be resolved and closed in the same year, and there will often be a significant time gap between incident and claim closure.

Jayne Black, Chief Executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We aim to provide our patients with the best care at all times. However, on the very rare occasions where the standards of care we expect fall short, we are committed to learning from what has gone wrong.

“Investigations follow a national framework, and involve staff, so that lessons are shared and embedded across the Trust not only to prevent future incidents from happening but also to ensure our patients have better outcomes and a better experience.”

A spokesperson for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are sorry that these patients did not receive the high standards of care that we strive for at East Kent Hospitals.

“We are committed to learning and making continual improvements to our services.”

Meanwhile, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s spokesperson said: “Our teams look after more than 900,000 patients every year, aiming to provide the best possible care at all times.

“We recognise and understand the impact on our patients and their families if we do not meet the standards they expect.

“We are committed to learning from incidents and continuing to improve the experience we provide to all patients.”