Compensation for medical negligence and adverse incidents in Saolta University Healthcare Group reached a ten-year high last year, when payments of more than €76 million were made to claimants – including patients.

Saolta, a seven-hospital group in the West and North West, made compensation payments totalling more than €323m in the past ten years, but 2022 was by far the biggest.

The group which includes University Hospital Galway, Merlin Park Hospital and Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, paid out €76.3m in compensation last year, which was the most paid by any of the country’s seven hospital groups.

Aontú, which obtained the figures from the Department of Health through the State Claims Agency (SCA), said there was a correlation between stress levels among overworked staff and the rate of mistakes made, which lead to compensation pay-outs.

In a statement issued to this newspaper, Saolta said: “Legal cases are managed on behalf of all state authorities, including the HSE, by the State Claims Agency which has a statutory responsibility in this regard”.

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