Cancer patients paid £11m in compensation for delays

More than £11 million has been paid in compensation to Scottish patients whose cancer diagnosis was either delayed or made in error, according to newly revealed data.
Health boards across Scotland have compensated dozens of individuals since the 2019-20 financial year for mistakes related to oncology, with the total sum reaching £11,442,443.
The data, obtained by the campaign group Scotland in Union through a freedom of information request, highlights the financial repercussions of diagnostic errors in cancer care. Although most health boards have not disclosed the exact number of patients who received payments because of confidentiality reasons, it is known that at least 49 separate settlements have been made in the past five years.
Among the health boards, NHS Lothian paid nearly £5 million in compensation to patients and their families, the most paid by any board in Scotland, since 2019. However, the true figure of total compensation is likely even higher as NHS Tayside, one of Scotland’s major health boards, did not disclose its figures.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde paid out more than £2.8 million, NHS Grampian £1.1 million and NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lanarkshire all paid more than half a million. NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Borders, NHS Fife, NHS Highland and NHS Orkney all paid between £50,000 and £450,000.
Labour’s health spokeswoman, Dame Jackie Baillie, told The Daily Record: “This demonstrates why it is so important that NHS Scotland catches up quickly with cancer care.
“If people are not diagnosed early it can lead to worse outcomes. The Scottish government must not use the excuse of the pandemic to justify the delays that are still happening.
“There is no excuse for delays to still be happening. The SNP need to provide much-needed support for staff to achieve better outcomes for patients.”
The compensation figures comes after data from Public Health Scotland showed only 70.4 per cent of patients started treatment within the 62-day standard from urgent referral to first treatment in the quarter ending March 31 2024, a decline from previous quarters and far below the 95 per cent target. The 31-day standard from decision to treat to first treatment was met for 94.1 per cent of patients, consistent with the previous quarter but lower than in 2019. Although 10 of 15 NHS boards met the 31-day standard, none met the 62-day target.
Alastair Cameron, the chairman of Scotland in Union, expressed concern over the findings. “Every instance of compensation being paid to cancer patients reveals a story of personal tragedy and heartbreak,” he said.
“Everyone understands that in an organisation the size of the NHS there will always be cases where mistakes are made. But the fact more than £11 million has been paid out in the last five years illustrates the scale of the problem.”
Cameron also underscored the broader implications for Scotland’s healthcare system, stating: “NHS staff and patients have repeatedly warned that the health service in Scotland is on its knees. That so much has been paid out following misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis in cancer care should be a wake-up call to this Scottish government. It’s time for ministers to focus more sharply on people’s priorities, including our NHS.”