Record £5 million payout for actress struck down by hospital infection

LESLIE Ash, the actress, yesterday won a £5 million compensation payout after she contracted a hospital bug, her lawyer said.

The star of Men Behaving Badly and Merseybeat was last night said to be "delighted" after reaching an out-of-court settlement with Chelsea and Westminster hospital.

The record-breaking award is so large because of the amount the actress was earning at the time and might have earned in the future, the NHS compensation body said.

Officials at Chelsea and Westminster have apologised to Ms Ash and said the hospital has reviewed its procedures in the wake of the incident.

Janice Gardner, the solicitor who represented Ms Ash, said the payout was expected to arrive within a month.

She said her client was pleased she would not have to go to court to fight the claim.

The case was due before a judge in April.

Ms Gardner said: "I think she is delighted that we could reach an amicable settlement.

"Nobody really wants to go to court. It would have been hard going for her.

"In a case when you have got serious injuries, you have to be reasonably satisfied that the injuries have settled before you can settle the claim."

The 47-year-old actress sought treatment for a punctured lung and two cracked ribs after falling off her bed on to a table.

However, after she was admitted to the hospital in April 2004, she became dangerously ill.

Ms Ash almost died after being struck down with Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus (MSSA).

She now walks with a stick and campaigns to prevent hospital-acquired infections, which are linked to more than 500 deaths a year in Scotland.

MSSA is similar to the superbug MRSA, but unlike MRSA, it does respond to antibiotics.

A spokesman for the Chelsea and Westminster said: "We wish to apologise to Mrs Chapman for the shortcomings in her care when she was a patient at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

"We sincerely regret the injuries that she sustained as a result of these failings."

The spokesman added: "The trust carried out a full review of all relevant procedures in this case to learn from its mistakes and to improve patient care.

"As a direct result, the trust updated its guidelines and provided nurses with additional training on monitoring infection."

Last night, Steve Walker, chief executive of the NHS Litigation Authority, said the payout set a new record for compensation following a hospital-acquired infection.

He said: "It's the highest we have ever paid out arising from a hospital-acquired infection.

"It's high because she was earning a lot of money before this happened.

"Most of the value of the award is either past loss of earnings or prospective future loss of earnings."

A spokeswoman for the Patients' Association, a campaign group, said that the payout would act as a warning to other hospitals to improve their infection prevention methods.

She added: "This is a wake-up call to the whole NHS, especially to those trusts not giving infection control top priority.

"Had best practice been carried out during (Ms Ash's] hospital care, we would not be in this position today."

ALL EYES ON SCOTS TEST CASE

THE £5 million payout to Lesley Ash came as an MRSA test case, which could cost the Scottish health service millions of pounds, continues at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Elizabeth Miller, 71, is claiming £30,000 in damages for allegedly contracting the bug in Glasgow Royal Infirmary after a heart operation in 2001.

If the judge, Lady Clark, allows the case to proceed, and were Mrs Miller to go on to win an award, hundreds of other patients are likely to follow suit and demand payments, some into six figures.

The hospital denies any negligence and wants the case dismissed. It claims Mrs Miller might have been carrying the bug before she was admitted.

However, Cameron Fyfe, Mrs Miller's solicitor, said that her litigation could ultimately help save money if it led to improved cleanliness in hospitals and a fall in the number of cases of MRSA.