Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) claims: FOI release

Information requested

Clarification on the financial arrangements in place for amounts greater than £25,000 in a CNORIS claim, for example are they spread between health boards or absorbed by the Scottish Government as a simple loss?

Response

Information which sets out the financial arrangements in place for the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) is available from the NHS National Services Scotland website: 

https://www.nss.nhs.scot/legal/clinical-negligence-and-other-risks-indemnity-scheme-cnoris/guide-tothe-clinical-negligence-and-other-risks-indemnity-scheme-cnoris/. The CNORIS Annual Report, also includes detail of the funding arrangements in place: https://www.nss.nhs.scot/publications/cnorisannual-report-2023-2024/.

The CNORIS is a risk transfer and financial scheme for Health and Social Care across Scotland. The indemnity scheme is comparable with those in place across the UK and set up to prevent overreserving of funds based on forecast contributions. Thus, all available resources are left in the service for the longest possible time.

Contributions from members fund CNORIS and it is non-profit making. Each year of the scheme runs from 1 April to 31 March. During this time, the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate (SGHSCD) reimburses the cost of litigation against members that exceed the CNORIS deductibles threshold. That deductibles threshold is currently £25,000 and members pay all claim costs up to this value from within their own budgets.

At the end of each financial year, contributions are collected from members to repay the deficit accrued in-year by SGHSCD. The calculation of contributions is based upon a member’s proportion of the overall risks. Clinical and non-clinical risk profiles are set up to assess these risks. Annual charges are agreed with non-NHS members on joining the scheme.

Costs incurred beyond the £25,000 deductible threshold are therefore ultimately distributed across members of the scheme. More information on this distribution is available via the websites linked above, however, if you are not able to access these then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

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