Medical Protection Society (MPS) has announced that its members in Ireland will soon benefit from a more local service, which will see cases and clinical negligence claims handled within the country, and clinical negligence expert Tom Hayes appointed to head up the expansion.
MPS is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals, supporting more than 300,000 members around the world – with over 21,000 of those in Ireland. In 2019 alone, it supported members in Ireland with more than 1,800 medical and dental cases – ranging from complaints, through to more complex issues such as claims of clinical negligence, regulatory matters, inquests and criminal investigations.
With additional services soon to be available in-country, MPS’s support for members will be geographically more accessible than ever before. The move will enable MPS to better understand and address the concerns of members in Ireland, and will also provide it with greater clarity on the risks and trends faced by practitioners.
Announced as Head of Service Delivery in Ireland, Tom Hayes will join MPS on 2 March with a remit to manage the delivery of the new services and a plan to have the office – which is likely to be situated just outside central Dublin – fully operational in the next 12-18 months.
Tom has an extensive background in medical law and malpractice. Since 2007, he has been based in Dublin working for Matheson where he established their healthcare services. During his tenure with Matheson, he headed up the 140-strong litigation department and was the senior partner for MPS’s work. Prior to this, Tom practised clinical malpractice law in London where he was a partner at Capsticks.
Tom Hayes, commented: “Having worked alongside MPS legal teams in Ireland for many years, the opportunity to move across and join them at a time of exciting progress and evolution was too good to turn down. The quality of service from the UK office has never been in doubt, but by providing cases and claims handling support in-country we will be able to improve the experience for members even further.”
Melanie Rowles, Director of Delivery Services at MPS, added: “Getting closer to members wherever they are in the world is a key part of the MPS strategy, which is designed to ensure we are best placed to meet the increasingly diverse range of issues faced by doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals. I was thrilled to appoint someone of the calibre of Tom, and members in Ireland are going to benefit enormously from the many years of experience he has gained in the healthcare legal field.”
Notes to editor
For further information contact: Ione Gyamfi at E: [email protected] or T:+44(0)207 640 5119, M:+44(0)7525680165.
About MPS
The Medical Protection Society (“MPS”) is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world. With more than 16,000 members in Ireland our knowledge and experience of the medicolegal environment globally puts us in a strong position to advise and inform policy makers. Membership provides access to expert advice and support together with the right to request indemnity for complaints or claims arising from professional practice.
Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our workshops, E-learning, clinical risk assessments, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations. MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.