By Ken Thomas, medical negligence specialist with Harding Evans Solicitors & Lawyer of the Year (Welsh Law Awards).

We are all users of the healthcare system in this country. Every advancing year brings with it new developments, some of them good, some problematic. 2004 may prove to be particularly significant for patients and their families who have suffered or will suffer one way or another through healthcare failings.

Later this month, the nationwide organ group litigation will at long last be tried. This will take place at the High Court in London. The hearing will be in open Court so that interested parties may attend and the trial is expected to last for approximately four weeks. Three lead cases will actually be heard, each representing the various categories of case. Nearly 70 Welsh cases are involved, some of them against hospitals in the Gwent area.

It will be interesting to see whether many more orthopaedic patients will follow the lead of Yvonne Watts, the lady who last year got fed up of waiting for orthopaedic surgery in this country. She therefore went abroad for the surgery and sought reimbursement from her local NHS Trust who had kept her waiting such a long time. There may even be people in the Gwent area thinking of doing so now – we all know too well that waiting lists in Wales and especially in our region are particularly bad and showing few signs of significant improvement.

On a more general note, many will be interested to see how the Government moves forward proposals to change the way clinical negligence matters are handled. The Department of Health published a report “Making Amends” last summer. The consultation period in respect of that document came to an end in October.

Nearer to home, the Welsh Assembly Government in Cardiff Bay set up a Working Party to look at clinical negligence cases in Wales last year. The move was announced by Health Minister Jane Hutt who indicated that she wanted there to be greater emphasis on a swifter resolution of claims. It had been hoped that a pilot scheme could be operational by last September but that did not materialise. Given that at any one time there are very many patients/families pursuing NHS complaints and claims in the Gwent area, this again is a development that will affect a lot of people in the Gwent region.

Meanwhile, those Claimants who secure the largest awards, for instance Cerebral Palsy child victims, may see changes to the way Courts order the compensation to be paid out. Instead of the traditional one off lump sum payments, Courts may begin to lean more towards periodical payments that are paid over the lifetime of the successful Claimant.

Legislative changes affecting mental health patients are also anticipated in 2004. One thing is perhaps particularly likely – the number of people coming forward to complain or claim in respect of what they feel to have been substandard medical or dental treatment, is likely to continue increasing.

For some years now, I have experienced a year on year increase in the number of individuals contacting my department seeking advice in such situations. It is likely to be many more years before we are likely to see a significant change in that trend.