Abstract
Changes imposed by central government on the financing of the defence of medical negligence claims, and the introduction of audit as part of the re-structuring of the NHS have established a new climate within which the courts are provided with the opportunity to amend or abolish the Bolam test in favour of a normative test based on professional consensus guidelines. The paper will examine the future of the Bolam test as a measure of the standard of care in medical negligence cases and evaluate the prospects for change with particular reference to the new system of NHS Indemnity and the progress of medical audit.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.