Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) paid out clinical negligence claims amounting to £22,847,718 last year.

It also paid £295,539 in “financial redress” claims to patients, with £42,300 of offers still waiting to be accepted.

The figures are in a report to be discussed on 23 September.

During 2024-25 BCUHB made 40 offers of financial redress which were accepted, totalling £295,539. Seven other offers were made but are still waiting to be accepted, totalling £42,300.

The board also issued 11 redress apologies (without financial redress), nine cases were removed from redress to continue as clinical negligence claims, one was concluded, denying liability following an expert report, and 15 independent clinical experts were instructed as part of the redress process.

The report explains if investigations are unable to come to a conclusion internally, independent clinical experts are instructed.

The report noted each matter settled as a redress case instead of a clinical negligence claim saves BCUHB “a significant amount in legal costs as well as providing patients with a quicker resolution”.

This year there has been 313 clinical negligence claims and 45 personal injury claims.

The total amount paid out during 2024/25 for clinical negligence amounted to £22,847,718. For personal injury, the sum was £259,907. This included damages, claimant’s costs and defence costs for all claims.

Throughout 2024-25, the BCUHB report also says some “trends” are noted within the claims, including claims brought in relation to alleged failed “treatment/procedures”. Failures in relation to “assessment/investigation/diagnosis” continues to be the highest category types received for clinical negligence claims.

For personal injury claims, the trend continued to be slips and trips and violence/aggression manual handling matters.

The most frequently occurring specialties seen in clinical negligence cases continues to be emergency departments, obstetrics, gynaecology, surgery and trauma & orthopaedics.

The report stated: “The number of matters occurring in the emergency department has increased, which is likely to be associated with pressures seen in unscheduled care settings.

“Although not the highest in number, birth injury claims account for the largest settlement amounts paid for clinical negligence claims.”

Pam Wenger, director of corporate governance at BCUHB, said: “We recognise that behind every case of clinical negligence or redress is a patient and their family who have experienced harm or distress, and we extend our sincere apologies to those affected.

“As the largest health organisation in Wales, we provide care to over 700,000 people across North Wales every year. While the vast majority of patients receive safe and effective care, we accept that there are occasions when things go wrong.

“In these situations, we have a legal and moral duty to be open and transparent, to investigate what happened, to apologise, and where appropriate, to provide financial compensation.

“We continue to work hard to reduce the number of incidents that result in harm by learning from every case, strengthening our governance and patient safety processes, and putting robust improvement plans in place to ensure the best possible care for the people of North Wales.”