A Birmingham NHS trust has paid out over £90 million towards compensation in the last five years, with around £20 million being paid out last year alone.
Data from the BBC Shared Data Unit shows that the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust had paid £12 million in damages in 2013, out of which over £1 million were related to maternity costs only. This includes payments made before and after 1995.
Nationally, The Heart of England NHS Foundation has one of the highest amounts paid towards medical negligence, while Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust paid over £45 million.
The Heart of England break-up of costs:
The chart below shows that 63% of all payouts were towards damages, while maternity-related costs stood at 1%.