A hospital trust has paid out more than £45 million over the past five years for historical blunders.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital (SaTH) Trust was ranked third in the West Midlands for the £42.2m payouts it made between 2012 and 2017 in relation to mistakes made after 1995.

Of that £30.4m was awarded in damages.

The figure also includes over £470,000 which was paid out in damages for maternity mistakes made before 1995.

The organisation, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, was ranked 84th against all Trusts in England.

The Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen paid out £5.7m over the same period for incidents that happened after 1995, ranking it 161st against the rest of England.

Of that £3.5m was awarded in damages.

NHS Resolution, which covers the cost of medical negligence claims for NHS trusts, is currently working with the Government to put forward measures to cut the costs in England, such as resolving cases before they go to court and cash incentives for trusts to make maternity services safer.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “Our relentless drive to improve patient safety, including an ambition to halve the rates of neonatal deaths, stillbirths, maternal deaths and brain injuries caused during or shortly after labour by 2025, will help to reduce traumatic and costly safety failings in the NHS and ensure better protection for patients.

“We’re ensuring taxpayers’ money is spent effectively by taking action against law firms creaming off excessive legal costs that dwarf the damages recovered – but we’re also clear we want to ensure patients continue to access justice at a reasonable cost.”