Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has paid out £6.2 million in damages for gynaecology medical negligence claims lodged against it in the last five years, a new investigation has revealed. 

Data obtained by Medical Negligence Assist has revealed the Trust, which includes Frimley Park, Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals, has paid out one of the highest amounts out of all NHS Trusts, second only to Bedfordshire Hospital NHS Trust which has paid £6.4m in damages for gynaecology negligence claims since 2019.

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

In it, experts are calling for extra funding to speed up treatment for the more than three-quarters of a million women currently on waiting lists.

With stretched services, struggling staff and dwindling resources, it is almost inevitable that standards of care will suffer. 

The RCOG report adds: “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.”

Medical Negligence Assist investigated the number of medical negligence claims that have been lodged against NHS Trusts in the last five years. 

It revealed that since 2019, Frimley Health NHS Trust has reported a total of 28 claims and incidents of gynaecology-related medical negligence to NHS Resolution, which is the legal arm of the National Health Service.

Between 2019 and 2024, the Trust has settled 40 such claims with damages amounting to £6,217,672 - the figure does not include NHS or claimant legal costs paid.

Medical Negligence Assist’s investigation also uncovered the most common primary injuries and causes of claims which included, failure to act on abnormal test results, failed sterilisation and intraoperative problems - which are complications that affect patients during surgery. 

The data revealed that across the NHS, 3,739 gynaecology medical negligence claims and incidents have been reported to NHS Resolution since 2019. 

Of those, 1,337 claims were made by women or on behalf of women for ‘unnecessary pain’ as well as a further 740 for ‘additional or unnecessary operations.’ 

There were also 151 claims lodged against NHS Trust with ‘cancer; listed as the primary injury sustained as a result of gynaecology-related medical negligence as well as 143 more claims for ‘bowel damage and/or dysfunction.’