Abstract
Taking up the theme of change in the November editorial, all four key issues have moved on significantly in the intervening period:
Lord Young's review has been published and advocates a small claims scheme for clinical negligence, along the lines of that agreed recently by Motor insurers. The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) is actively working on a proposal; On 15 November, the Ministry of Justice announced a consultation not just on elements of Lord Justice Jackson's review of civil costs, but also on the provision of Legal Aid. These consultations end on 14 February 2011. Details of how to participate are given on the MoJ website; An external review of the NHSLA is proceeding; The Lord Chancellor has announced that he is reviewing the discount rate, following the decision of the Court of Appeal of Guernsey. Any reduction could lead to massive additional expenditure for the NHS.
No doubt some or all of these issues will have moved further by the time these words are read, for there is little doubt that the world of clinical negligence is currently undergoing its biggest upheaval since 1999, when Lord Woolf's reforms to procedure were introduced.