NICOLA Sturgeon, the health secretary, was last night asked to explain why pay-outs for medical negligence surged 280 per cent last year.
The Conservatives have questioned why compensation payments rose from £7.7 million in 2005-6 to £21.5 million in 2006-7 for clinical negligence.
The figures were revealed in a Scottish Parliament answer to Jackson Carlaw, the Scottish Tories' pub
lic health spokesman.
They are similar to medical negligence figures published in January which revealed a 230 per cent increase. These latest figures exclude non-medical accidents on NHS premises.
Mr Carlaw said: "Perhaps the most striking aspect of the written answer is that Nicola Sturgeon provides no explanation for these increases.
"Further questions spring to mind. Do these increases result from a growing number of more serious clinical errors, 'compensation culture' or a bit of both?
"Who is being held accountable? What is the government doing to get to grips with this issue? What are the future implications for front-line services?"
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said that in recent years the number of claims had remained "relatively stable".
She added: "We believe the large increase in 2006-7 is exceptional and caused by a larger-than-normal number of high-value settlements – mostly birth-related cases which often take several years to settle."
The full article contains 226 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
