Compensation ads on NHS leaflets “highly inappropriate”

Welsh NHS hospitals handing out leaflets featuring ads for compensation companies is “highly inappropriate”, it has been stated.

Writing to all NHS trusts about the issue, Wales’ minister for health Edwina Hart criticised the move and said that she is disappointed in hospitals who issue such pamphlets – specifically Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales.

It was brought to Ms Hart’s attention by a patient who noticed an ad on the back of a leaflet advising her on effective ankle exercises.

She stated: “It seems rather odd to me that the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust should allow advertising along these lines when it could potentially lead to claims against hospitals and encourages the compensation culture.”

Last month, figures from the NHS showed that payouts for negligence within the organisation rose by 22 per cent over the last year, amounting to a total of £807 million.

The data showed that during this period, there were 8,855 clinical and non-clinical claims brought against the body.