It has emerged that Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), one of England’s largest trusts, spent £4.7 million in gynaecology-related negligence claims between 2020 and 2025, while Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (covering part of northern Greater Manchester) where payments for damages of £4.4 million were awarded. Together with the damages settled by the region’s other NHS trusts it brings the total for Greater Manchester to over £10 million, which is 11% of the total figure for England in that period.
A statement by the NHS can be found at the end of this article.
Greater Manchester area data and comparison
For the other NHS Foundation trusts in the Greater Manchester area the figures were: Stockport, £117,296, Bolton, £539,318, and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care, £345,078. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust was the only one not to pay damages, despite 15 claims.
These figures were obtained by Medical Negligence Assist through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, uncovering the scale of gynaecology negligence claim pay-outs since the turn of the decade and painting a worrying picture of the state of women’s healthcare in England. Altogether, damages of £91.8mn in gynaecology-related damages were settled between 2020/21 and 2024/25. However, these totals cannot be compared meaningfully between trusts without accounting for size and patient volume; a more meaningful comparison would require dividing claims by the number of patients seen, which was not captured in the FOI response. Another complicating factor in the comparison is that claims could have arisen from events last year or decades ago, and this was not recorded in the data either.
The most recent figures on record are almost £2 million less than those handed out in 2023/24, but this was also a time of widespread strikes.
Pain, infertility and late cancer diagnosis
The primary injury claimants filed nationally was that of ‘unnecessary pain’, with 418 recorded in the last five years, while there were 62 people who sought damages for ‘infertility’.
There were also 150 cancer-related claims, 62 of them filed by women whose cancer was only found at advanced stages.
Call for government action
The data uncover the extent of medical negligence in NHS gynaecology, and now solicitor Gareth Lloyd, Head of Medical Negligence at JF Law, has urged the Labour government to intervene.
He said:
The figures paint a distressing time for women. As the data shows, negligence in gynaecological care can lead to serious injuries such as infertility or bladder and bowel problems, which can throw people’s lives upside down.
With the Labour government promising to tackle problems within the NHS, this £100mn compensation bill should prompt them to take a hard look at gynaecology and to put an effective plan in place to tackle the issues and raise the standard of care.
More needs to be done to protect women in the UK, and those who suffer due to medical negligence deserve to be compensated.
Greater Manchester’s payouts have risen sharply
At the heart of Greater Manchester’s figures is MFT, which had the highest total damages settled in the region, at £4,723,955 across 80 claims, 46 of which were settled. (Note: All negligence payouts are made through the Clinical Negligence Scheme rather than by the trusts themselves, as part of wider NHS indemnity arrangements.)
The figures for MFT show considerable variation year on year, from £2.6mn in damages settled in 2020/21, falling to £154,098 in 2021/22, before reaching £1,279,712 in 2024/25. However, as NHS Resolution notes in its FOI guidance, these figures reflect the year in which claims were closed, not when incidents occurred, and year-on-year fluctuations cannot be interpreted as trends. It is also worth noting that MFT took on the management of all existing legal liabilities relating to North Manchester General Hospital in October 2021, when Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was dissolved, meaning some claims in the data may relate to care that predates MFT’s management of that site.
The closest to MFT in both scale and cost is the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCANFT), where damages of £4,468,246 were settled in gynaecology-related claims over the five years, only £255,709 less than MFT. Of the 68 claims faced by NCANFT, 51 were settled, meaning 75% resulted in damages being paid. This was the highest rate of any major NHS trust in England.
NCA’s annual damages settled have also increased significantly, from £284,117 in 2020/21 to £763,884 in 2024/25, an increase of 168%. As with all trusts in this data, these figures reflect the year claims were closed rather than when incidents took place.
Burnout among our gynaecologists
Behind the plethora of figures, the causes of repeated errors and patient harm are complex, reflecting pressures within the workforce and the wider NHS system.
One recent national survey by Imperial College London has shown that burnout among UK obstetricians and gynaecologists has risen sharply since the pandemic, with 72% of the 1,114 doctors surveyed in 2022 meeting the criteria for burnout.
The World Health Organisation defines burnout as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ linked to exhaustion, detachment and reduced professional effectiveness, and the study notes that it can erode empathy and compassion in clinical settings. Researchers also report increased anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, particularly among younger doctors, underscoring the mounting pressure within maternity and gynaecology services and the need for urgent organisational action.
The convergence of rising negligence payouts and unprecedented levels of clinician burnout highlights a deeper fragility within gynaecology services. These are not simply financial figures or workforce statistics; they represent avoidable suffering and preventable loss. Any meaningful improvement will require confronting the systemic pressures that have allowed standards to erode.
Dr Manisha Kumar, chief clinical officer at NHS GM said:
We know that any instance where care falls short can have a significant impact on women and their families. The safety and wellbeing of our patients is always our top priority.
When incidents occur, our trusts work closely with NHS Resolution to provide support, investigate cases thoroughly, and embed learning to improve care. The value of settlements does not directly reflect the quality of care today. Many claims relate to historical cases, can take years to resolve, and are influenced by factors such as population size, service complexity, and national trends in litigation.
Across Greater Manchester, our Trusts are actively strengthening gynaecology services, responding to patient feedback, and implementing the national Women’s Health Strategy to ensure consistent, high-quality care. We take any complications or delays in care very seriously and remain committed to safe, compassionate services for every woman who uses our services.
Medical Negligence Assist offers expert legal support and advice to those affected by gynaecology negligence. You can book a free consultation or call their 24-hour helpline by visiting their website.
