Yorkshire Ambulance Service has paid out over £600,000 in compensation to staff while working over the past two years, according to the
Yorkshire Post.
It is also very likely that the total public funds spent will be much higher, as the mentioned amount corresponds to the excess insurance payments which the trust is in charge of.
From January 2014-January 2015, £385,708 was paid out to injured employees, while £225,931 was paid out in the succeeding year.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service was responsible for shouldering the first £10,000 of any claim, while the rest of the tab is paid for by the NHS Litigation Authority on its behalf.
The data, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, comes as the NHS is under great financial stress, raising concerns about patient care.
Personal injury claims for minor mishaps such as slips or falls cost the trust more than £17,000 in 2014-2015 and more than £15,000 in 2015-2016. The trust paid £3,000 for each claim it received. An additional £6,600 was paid for claims such as lost or damaged items belonging to both patients and staff.
Jonathan Isaby, head of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, was worried that each pound paid out was money taken away from vital frontline services.
He told the publication: “Bosses at the trust must do their best to ensure they live up to the legal standards as required by law, while accepting that accidents do happen.
“Of course some of the payments will be entirely justified, and concerns must be listened to when they are raised as the most serious accidents can ruin lives. But the trust must also root out those who are playing the system with spurious demands for taxpayers’ cash as every penny paid out in compensation is a penny taken away from frontline services.”
Steve Page, executive director of quality, governance and performance assurance at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, told the
Yorkshire Post that the organization has made the necessary adjustments.
“The trust actively uses feedback from staff and learning from incidents and near misses to identify areas where staff safety can be improved,” he said.
“Over the last year we have worked closely with staff representatives to introduce changes to trust vehicles and equipment which have had a positive impact on the levels of associated staff injury.”
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