NHS Resolution welcomes the National Audit Office’s October 2025 report on the costs of clinical negligence in England and endorses its findings.
The report concludes that NHS Resolution has “worked hard to reduce the financial and emotional cost of clinical negligence by resolving claims faster and without litigation wherever possible”.
The proportion of claims resolved without litigation has increased from 67% in 2006-07 to 83% in 2024-25. In addition, most clinical negligence cases (99.8%) did not proceed to trial in 2024-25, reducing both costs and emotional distress for patients and healthcare staff.
The report highlights NHS Resolution’s innovation in dispute resolution and learning from claims such as the Early Notification Scheme for maternity.
As the NAO’s report concludes “by far the most important issue is reducing the incidence of clinical negligence and the harm caused to patients.”
Patient safety remains a top priority. We are therefore accelerating our work with partners across the healthcare safety system to use insights from claims to improve outcomes for patients, with a particular focus on maternity care.
We also look forward to providing our unique data and expertise to support government in addressing the wider challenges set out in the NAO’s report.
