HEALTH bosses in the region are faced with paying out tens of millions of pounds for botched operations and medical mistakes as alarm grows at the soaring number of legal actions by patients.

The warning by NHS managers comes as a storm raged nationwide over a woman who gave birth to triplets after fertility treatment - then successfully sued because she had three children rather than the two she wanted.

Patricia, 34, and Peter Thompson, 57, won their case for breach of contract against the private Sheffield Fertility Clinic at a High Court hearing on Thursday. A hearing in January is due to decide the level of damages, but the clinic is considering an appeal.

Yesterday, the couple, of Thrybergh, South Yorkshire, said they believed the case highlighted the importance of consent for IVF patients, even though the triplets were "a joy" to them. They said in a statement: "We feel that the central issue in this case was that our wishes were not followed."

Amid warnings that the total NHS bill for clinical negligence cases currently being considered is expected to exceed £2.4bn, managers at one North-East health authority said its bill alone could be more than £6m.

If this figure is multiplied by the number of health authorities in Northern and Yorkshire region, the bill for the region could total more than £80m - which could pay for a medium sized new general hospital, 160 consultants or more than 4,500 nurses.

County Durham and Darlington Health Authority has revealed that it could have to pay out up to £6.2m to settle outstanding claims made before the formation of NHS trusts in the mid-1990s.

Already this year the authority has paid out £1.1m in compensation. The figure of £6.2m does not include the potential cost of settling more recent claims which will be dealt with by individual NHS trusts in the area.

North Yorkshire Health Authority estimates that it may have to pay out £12m to settle outstanding claims.

This estimate does not include the potentially crippling costs of settling the 72 complaints made against The Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, by victims of disgraced gynaecologist Richard Neale.

Experts from the NHS Litigation Authority are researching the cost of claims made against the health service, which last year came to £300m. The latest estimate of costs is due to be announced shortly and it is expected to show another increase.

The amount set aside to meet all potential claims has now grown to £2.4bn - an increase of £600,000 on the previous year.

Of the seven cases settled this year, one relates to an incident at Bishop Auckland General Hospital, two at Darlington Memorial Hospital and four at hospitals managed by the North Durham Health Care Trust.

There have also been 29 approaches made through solicitors which could ultimately result in further pay-outs by the County Durham authority.

A spokesman for the NHS Litigation Authority, which acts as an insurer for NHS trusts, said: "The cost of medical negligence compensation is creeping up for two main reasons.

"We are a more litigious society, so there are probably more claims, and the cost of individual claims has gone up."

While settlements are dealt with locally, the cost is reimbursed by the NHS Litigation Authority out of central funds.

Bartering over a baby - Page 8