The Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts

The Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) is a mutual pooling pay-as-you-go arrangement for NHS trusts in England, designed to assist trusts in meeting the costs of clinical negligence claims. A similar scheme has been set up in Wales and this is called the Welsh Risk Pool (WRP). The emphasis of the schemes is on: adopting prudent risk management strategies; meeting CNST and WRP risk management standards; implementing in full the new complaints procedure, including its potential linkages to near misses, clinical indicators and clinical incidents to provide an alternative remedy for some potential litigants; and adopting a systematic approach to claims handling in line with best practice.