Ahead of the general election next week, the Medical Protection Society (MPS) is urging the new administration to prioritise legal and procedural reform to tackle the cost of clinical negligence.
These reforms include among others:
- The swift introduction of a pre-action protocol following the inclusion of legislation to allow this in the Legal Services Regulation Act
- Limits on lawyers’ fees in smaller value cases
- A debate on the merits of a limit on damages (special and general)
- Tariff of general damages created in statute
Legal and procedural reform could save public money, which would be better spent on patient care. Furthermore, reform will make the legal system quicker, fairer and more efficient for healthcare professionals and their patients.
Mr John Tiernan, Executive Director of Member Engagement at MPS said:
“Because the cost of clinical negligence continues to be a challenge and is costing the public purse a significant amount of money, we believe that the new government must prioritise legal reform and support healthcare professionals so that they can do what they entered their profession to do – care for patients.”
MPS is calling for tort and procedural reform as part of its ‘Health sector priorities for the new government 2016’ paper.1
For further information or to arrange an interview please contact Shannon Darling, Press Officer at MPS on +44 (0) 207 399 1319 or [email protected]
Notes to editors
- Read MPS’s ‘Health sector priorities for the new government 2016’
- Read MPS's full report titled ‘Challenging the cost of clinical negligence - The case for reform’