The NHS trust that runs Ealing Hospital and Central Middlesex Hospital has paid out more than £5.6m in compensation and legal fees over the past five years to patients affected by misdiagnoses, according to figures obtained through a freedom of information request to NHS Resolution.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH), which also runs Northwick Park Hospital, settled 16 of 18 claims made between 2019 and 2024. The cases involved failures to diagnose or delays in diagnosis, including serious and potentially life-threatening conditions.
The total includes £4,381,665 in damages paid to patients, along with £299,290 in NHS legal fees and £987,013 in legal costs claimed by patients.
NHS Resolution, which handles clinical negligence claims for NHS bodies in England, didn’t reveal which of LNWH’s hospitals the cases related to.
Gareth Lloyd, a medical negligence solicitor at JF Law – the firm behind Medical Negligence Assist, which submitted the FOI request – said: “Misdiagnosis is an all-embracing clinical negligence case type and covers a wide range of clinical situations from the simple diagnosis of a fracture to potentially fatal cancer diagnoses.”
Mr Lloyd added: “These cases can be a matter of life and death, and whether someone lives or dies will be determined by the success of the diagnosis.”
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, a spokesperson for LNWH said: “Although misdiagnosis claims are relatively rare given the number of patients we treat in our hospitals, we review every case and use each as a learning opportunity to improve patient safety. That includes continuing to invest in staff training, robust systems, and clinical processes to support accurate and timely diagnosis.”
They added: “In cases where misdiagnosis has been found to cause harm, we work with NHS Resolution to come to an appropriate settlement. We always strive to provide the best possible care and sincerely apologise where that has fallen short to the patient and families concerned.”
