Amidst staffing pressure and funding issues (which have been exacerbated by rising energy costs and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic), an estimated 8 million people in England are currently unable to access essential specialist mental health services. An increase in reported malpractice and clinical negligence is an unfortunate symptom of an increasingly strained mental healthcare service, but what exactly is malpractice and what can you do if you’ve suffered medical negligence at the hands of a psychiatric professional?
Issues such as understaffing and poor funding can lead to clinical malpractice
A range of issues can lead to clinical negligence or malpractice, which is generally defined as when a medical professional fails in their duty of care, resulting in their patients being harmed either physically or mentally. While the majority of clinical negligence cases occur accidentally and as a result of a range of mitigating factors, it’s essential that malpractice is identified to improve the standard of care and reduce the likelihood of future incidents. If you feel as though you’ve been a victim of clinical negligence on the part of your psychiatrist or mental healthcare provider, you could be eligible for a compensation pay-out.
How to tell if you have been clinically neglected
In the context of mental health and psychiatry, clinical negligence may include misdiagnosis, misprescription and referral failures or delays – your doctor or psychiatrist could also be found guilty of clinical negligence if they fail to factor in physical causes when diagnosing psychiatric symptoms or if they fail to prevent suicide in patients known to be at risk.
What should you do if you have been affected by clinical negligence?
draw on info regarding If you feel that you or someone that you care for has been a victim of clinical negligence, it’s essential that you address this in order to prevent further harm or injury. If you wish to make a compensation claim, it’s essential that you gather as much evidence as possible to prove that your healthcare provider failed in their duty of care and that this failure was a direct cause of any harm or injury suffered. This evidence could include witness statements, medical records and a thorough log of dates and times of any interactions related to the case. You could be eligible for compensation for any loss of earnings incurred as a result of clinical negligence, so ensure that you keep any receipts and payslips to prove that you’ve been affected financially. It’s worth remembering that, generally, the clinical negligence claim process must be started within 3 years of the reported incident taking place – by gathering evidence diligently and making a claim as early as possible, you’ll further your chances of receiving a compensation pay-out.
