Litigation

The GIRFT litigation workstream, co-led by John Machin, shares data on litigation costs with NHS trusts with the aim of working with clinicians and managers to determine how clinical practice could improve, reducing the potential for future litigation by enhancing patient experience.

GIRFT litigation data packs for medical and surgical specialties are shared with trusts to encourage the triangulation of learning from claims, incidents, complaints and inquests. In particular, since implementing the review of claims through the GIRFT orthopaedic visits and the litigation data packs, there has been a fall in orthopaedic claims volume.

The litigation workstream is being expanded to cover medical and clinical service workstreams, which will help drive both improvements in patient safety and reduction in litigation across the NHS.

Standardising patient consent

GIRFT has designed standardised consent forms to inform and support shared decision making between patients and their clinicians, allowing for a consistent, but personalised discussion around consent and a patient’s procedure.

The consent forms cover 64 HVLC procedures across six surgical specialties:

ENT
General surgery
Gynaecology
Ophthalmology
Orthopaedics
Urology

The consent forms have been co-created by senior clinical leads from the relevant specialties. An accompanying guide offers practical steps to help surgeons and clinicians implement national standards for consent in elective surgery, emphasising shared decision-making and the use of the GIRFT standardised consent forms.

John Machin

Litigation clinical co-lead

Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon, Previous National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow

John is the Clinical Co-Lead for Litigation at GIRFT, working with Professor Tim Briggs and NHS Resolution to ensure patient care is improved from reviewing clinical negligence claims. Responsible for publishing a range of scientific papers spanning clinical research, quality improvement and clinical negligence, John has also co-authored and contributed to many of the national reports, including The Chavasse Report on improving armed forces and veteran care, Getting It Right First Time – National Review of Elective Orthopaedics and Getting It Right in Orthopaedics – follow-up report. John has also provided input on behalf of GIRFT to the NHS Patient Safety Strategy.

John holds an honours degree in Medical Sciences from Magdalen College, Oxford, and completed his clinical training at UCL. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England having completed his higher surgical training in Nottingham before being awarded post-CCT fellowships at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford and King’s College Hospital in London. John is a consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee surgery at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

John is involved in many of the current GIRFT work streams.