SALISBURY BASED MEDICAL COMPENSATION CLAIM SPECIALISTS
It is really important to find a specialist medical negligence solicitor to handle your claim if you have been unfortunate enough to have a victim of such negligence. Why is that? Not only is the law and procedure complex when it comes to cases of medical negligence [sometimes referred to as clinical negligence], but to give you the best chance of winning the compensation you deserve, your solicitor is going to need a good understanding of medical issues so that they can properly review medical reports, any x-rays and GP or hospital notes, for example.
Here at long established Salisbury Solicitors, Bonallack & Bishop [who run this website], we can help you with specialist legal advice about your medical negligence claim. Our team of solicitors, all based in our Salisbury office, regularly deal with cases linked to Salisbury District Hospital and surrounding private clinics.
CALL SALISBURY (01722) 422300 – FOR FREE PHONE ADVICE AND A FREE 1ST INTERVIEW FROM OUR SPECIALIST MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE SOLICITORS
NHS league tables September 2025 update – disappointing assessment of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
In the new NHS league tables published in September 2025, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Salisbury District Hospital, was ranked 57th out of 134 acute hospital trusts in England.
While some services, such as critical care, have been rated highly, inspectors have continued to raise concerns about certain departments, including spinal services which still require improvement.
For patients in Salisbury, the trust’s mid-table position is a reminder that standards are mixed—many people receive good care, but problems remain, and individual cases of poor treatment can and do still happen.
HOW TO FIND A SPECIALIST SALISBURY BASED MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE SOLICITOR?
Our medical negligence team consists only of experienced and qualified solicitors, which means you can be guaranteed specialist advice and you won’t be left with having your claim run by a faceless unqualified call centre operative. Medical negligence and accident compensation claims is the only legal work they handle – and they can help you understand your options.
So, if you’re looking for specialist local help in running your medical negligence compensation claim – you can appoint our team in the safe knowledge that we have been independently accredited as real experts.
If you or a family member have been affected by mistakes at Salisbury District Hospital, or from any other medical practitioner in the Salisbury area, you may have the right to bring a medical negligence claim.
RECENT MEDICAL ERRORS IN SALISBURY
There are a number of providers of medical treatment in the Salisbury area, of which by far the largest is Salisbury District Hospital itself, which opened in 1991 and which provides medical cover for around 165,000 people in Salisbury and across Wiltshire.
Our medical negligence team see a lot of claims against hospitals across the southeast, and thankfully, for those living in the Salisbury area like me, SDH has had a pretty good reputation locally. We were particularly pleased to see that 2015 saw the national healthcare intelligence organisation, CHKS, grant Salisbury District Hospital a Top Hospitals Award as one of the 40 best hospitals in England Wales – an award based on a range of 22 standards of “clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care.”
However, worryingly, there do appear to have been a series of regular and serious clinical mistakes on a regular basis. Back in 2018 when Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust admitted what is referred to as not just one but two “never events” in the space of just two months.
‘Never Events’ are simply medical mistakes like these that should never, ever occur. In recent years a series of government Health Secretaries have recently been waging war on these kinds of dreadful surgical errors which are taking place far too often
Limited information was provided by the trust about these two 2018 failings. However, they did describe the first of the two incidents as “wrong-site surgery”. That is defined as an operation that was remarkably was carried out either on the wrong body part or the wrong patient entirely. The second of the two incidents involved what the trust described as a “foreign object” being left inside a patient after a surgical procedure.
These two serious horrendous errors were not the only ever events that have taken place at SDH in recent years. In fact, this was the third “never events” recorded by the hospital in the 2017/2018 financial year, which follow on from two similar incidents in the previous year.
Additionally, in October 2015, surgeons at the hospital admitted to having operated on the wrong part of a patient’s body. Then in December 2015, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust admitted another “never event” – confirming that in October of that year, surgeons at the hospital had operated on the wrong part of a patient’s body. That followed a mistake in 2014 when a surgical swab was left inside a patient after an operation at SDH
2015 also saw the trust report another worrying incident which a spokesman said involved a swab being left in a patient’s body after surgery.
You probably will not be surprised to read that a report prepared for the trust said that “never events” in surgery remained an “area of concern”.
Unfortunately, with such a large hospital, covering such a big population, errors do take place. But in recent years our team have handled a surprising number of compensation claims against Salisbury District Hospital– so let’s hope that standards are improving.
Unfortunately, with such a large hospital, covering such a big population, errors do take place. But in recent years our team have handled a surprising number of compensation claims against Salisbury District Hospital– so let’s hope that standards are improving.
SALISBURY DISTRICT HOSPITAL – RECENT SAFETY AND CLAIM HISTORY
Major Claims and Settlements
- In 2021, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust agreed a settlement of £1.85 million plus ongoing annual payments after a patient suffered brain injury during routine hernia surgery following an intra-operative bleed .
- In another case, the High Court confirmed the Trust had admitted to a ten-fold drug overdose given to a newborn in 2008, though the claim ultimately failed on causation.
Coroner Findings
- In 2024, a coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report after the death of a 91-year-old patient who fell at Salisbury District Hospital. The report highlighted missed falls-risk assessments, medication errors, and staff shortages.
Inspection Ratings
- 2021: The Care Quality Commission downgraded maternity services to Requires Improvement and leadership to Inadequate, citing safety and culture concerns .
- 2025: Following improvements, maternity services were rated Good, with inspectors noting better staffing and safety culture.
Serious Incidents and Never Events
The Trust has reported repeated Never Events in recent years, including wrong-site procedures, retained swabs, and wrong tooth extractions. Four Never Events were logged in 2023/24 alone .
Claims Data
NHS Resolution figures show Salisbury NHS FT faced five stillbirth-related claims over the last decade, totalling more than £430,000 in damages and costs.
A media summary of NHS Resolution data also reported that the Trust paid around £4 million in damages in 2019/20 across 28 negligence cases
SALISBURY DISTRICT HOSPITAL – ARE THINGS GETTING BETTER?
But is the situation actually improving at Odstock? One good sign emerged in March 2016 when the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust – [the organisation running SDH] was ranked fifth in the Learning from Mistakes League which according to the Department of Health ranks trusts on their “openness and honesty”. This league table is apparently based on data on “safety reporting and the NHS staff survey”.
The warning bells were then raised just one month later in April 2016 when a Care Quality Commission report stated that each of the following fundamental medical services guided by Salisbury District hospital “requires recruitment
- Spinal Injuries Centre
- A&E
- Surgery
- Intensive and critical care
- Services for children & young people
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS COST SALISBURY NHS MORE THAN £34 MILLION
In recent years, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has continued to face a steady flow of negligence claims. NHS Resolution data shows that in 2019/20 alone the Trust paid out around £4 million in damages across 28 separate claims – in addition to the significant legal costs involved. Over the last decade, the Trust has also settled cases involving serious injuries, including a multi-million pound settlement following surgical complications and several stillbirth-related claims. While Salisbury’s overall claim numbers remain lower than some larger regional Trusts such as Bath, Bournemouth and Great Western Hospitals, the financial impact of successful claims remains substantial and highlights ongoing concerns about patient safety and quality of care.
And those figures followed and even worse. – Between 2012 and 2017, Salisbury NHS paid out over £30 million as a direct result of medical negligence claims. On the back of those figures, that stage the Trust was ranked as low as 94th in terms of cash paid out as a result of claims, out of 258 Trusts nationwide. That performance put it behind Trusts in Dorset, Bournemouth, Bath and Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
OTHER LOCAL HOSPITALS – NEW HALL HOSPITAL
New Hall Hospital (Ramsay Health Care), just outside Salisbury, specialises in spinal surgery and receives many NHS patients.
And news here is much better. The CQC currently rates it as “Good”.
And we’re pleased to report that we don’t believe that any specific reported negligence judgments have been identified in the last ten years .
FUNDING YOUR COMPENSATION CLAIM? THERE’S NO NEED TO WORRY
Medical negligence claims are complex, can take years to settle and as a result, legal bills can be very expensive. However, there is no need to worry if you appoint us – we can run your claim using a no win no fee agreement – so there’s no reason for you to worry about having to pay your legal bill.
HOME AND HOSPITAL VISITS AVAILABLE IN SALISBURY
It’s not unusual for our clients in medical negligence cases to have difficulty in travelling. That’s not a problem – our team are happy to visit you at home in Salisbury or in hospital at Salisbury District Hospital – or, in fact anywhere in Wiltshire, Hampshire or Dorset.
WHY CHOOSE US?
Bringing a claim against a local hospital or clinic, like Salisbury District Hospital can feel daunting. Our medical negligence team has decades of experience handling complex claims, including those involving surgical errors, birth injuries, and misdiagnosis. We offer no win, no fee agreements in appropriate cases.
FREE SPECIALIST MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE ADVICE – CALL SALISBURY (01722) 422300
If you think that you might be entitled to compensation for a medical error, phone or email our team right away – remember there are strict time limits for making such claims and any lengthy delay in making your claim could mean that you lose the right to the compensation you deserve.
For free initial phone advice and a free no-obligation first appointment, get in touch with us today.
Bonallack and Bishop,
Rougemont House,
Rougemont Close,
Salisbury,
Wiltshire,
SP1 1LY
- Call us today on SALISBURY (01722) 422300 or free on FREEPHONE
0800 1404544
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There is free car parking for clients visiting our Salisbury office.