QUEEN Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, has paid out more than £1m in compensation claims and legal bills in the past three years.
Government figures reveal the NHS has set aside nearly £8bn over the next 10 years to cover an expected rise in claims and bills for medical negligence cases.
Figures released to News Shopper under the Freedom of Information Act show the hospital received nine claims during the year 2002/03, for which it paid out £7,631.
An additional £90,557 was paid out for these claims between then and 2004/05, with six of the claims now settled.
The number of claims rose to 14 during the year 2003-04, which saw the hospital pay out £30,660.
Eleven out of those 14 claims are now settled, at a further cost of £839,072.
The hospital received a further 27 claims the following year, for which it has made payments of £58,356.
Seven of these claims have been settled, while 20 remain outstanding.
A total of £1,026,276 has been paid out so far in response to 50 claims received since 2002.
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