Over £2.8m has been spent so far to deal with the repercussions of the damning rheumatology review, it has emerged.
It was last week revealed that the Government had received over 40 letters of claim in relation to treatment provided by the rheumatology department, with five cases referred to the States of Jersey Police.
Potential legal claims against the General Hospital’s rheumatology department started gathering pace last year after it emerged that hundreds of patients were given powerful drugs they did not need or were misdiagnosed.
The issues were unearthed following a review by the Royal College of Physicians, which described the standard of care as “well below what the review team would consider acceptable” for a contemporary rheumatological service.
Last year, the Health Department said it was “developing an approach to legal matters” and hoped to make settlement offers by the end of 2024 – either on a case-by-case basis or by way of a general compensation scheme.
But in May it emerged that plans for any kind of group compensation scheme for rheumatology patients had been scrapped.
Now, in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Law, the Government confirmed that a total of £1.3m was spent in 2023, a further £1m last year, and £492,500 from January to July this year on dealing with the repercussions of the rheumatology report.
The project – dubbed ‘Operation Crocus’ – was created in 2023 when the Royal College of Physicians wrote to Jersey’s Medical Director to recommend that a full audit of rheumatology patients should be carried out.
It was initially created and resourced to work on the findings and recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians report.