In response to the Department of Health and NHS England’s GP Indemnity Review released today, Simon Kayll, CEO at Medical Protection said:
“Medical Protection supports proposals for extra funding to help GPs with indemnity costs in the short-term - and the recognition that in the long-term we need reform of the legal system.
“We have been working with the Department of Health and NHS England during the review and we look forward to future engagement to help us to better understand how this will work for our members in practice. We will absolutely support any such scheme because we understand the impact and strength of feeling around this issue and are committed to supporting our members in any way we can.
“One important finding of this review is recognition that there has been no material deterioration in the quality and safety standards in primary care in recent years. Rather that increases in the cost of clinical negligence are likely due to other factors such as patient expectations and the legal environment. This should help reassure patients and ensure a continued focus on the root causes of the deterioration in the claims environment.
“Only last week we heard that the NHS Litigation Authority has estimated that a staggering £56.1bn will be needed to cover known and future claims for clinical negligence for past patient care in the NHS. This is why legal reform, to tackle the root cause of increasing costs is a must. We believe introducing fixed costs for small value claims and a limit on damages for future costs of care and earnings will help make the cost of clinical negligence more affordable. We recognise that this is a difficult message but difficult decisions about spending in the NHS are made every day, and this issue should not be considered as separate to this.
“The review also considers opportunities to reduce the likelihood of dissatisfied patients taking a legal route, through better communication and complaints handling by GPs. We strongly believe in the value of education in reducing the risks that arise from practice and improving patient interactions, which we support through our workshops, E-learning, publications, and conferences.”
Further information
For further information, please contact Kim Watson, Media Relations Manager at Medical Protection on 0207 399 1428 or [email protected]