Medical Protection Commenting on the NHS 10 Year Plan

Commenting on the NHS 10 year plan, Dr Rob Hendry, Medical Director and Chief Member Officer at Medical Protection Society (MPS) said:

-In relation to the plan to roll out Staff Treatment Hubs, a high-quality occupational health service for all NHS staff that includes support for back conditions and mental health issues:

“There is much to welcome in this plan, but a key workforce challenge not sufficiently addressed is how to support the many skilled healthcare workers who have a long career ahead of them, but are burnt out or struggling with their mental wellbeing. This is not only damaging for them but can also jeopardise patient care. Many are also on the verge of quitting.

“While the plan commits to an occupational health service that would include support with mental health issues, we are concerned that this may not be the specialist, confidential support healthcare staff really need. NHS England initiated a review well over a year ago to assess the provision of mental wellbeing support for NHS staff which is not mentioned. Sustained investment in comprehensive mental wellbeing support can play a critical role in retaining the medical workforce. It requires greater attention, and long-term thinking.”

-In relation to the news that the Government asked David Lock KC to provide expert advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the DHSC in the autumn:

“The ambition in this plan is positive, however it comes with a price tag. While it is disappointing that the Government has not set out, as part of the plan, how it will tackle the spiralling cost of NHS clinical negligence claims, we welcome the news David Lock KC will provide expert advice on this issue ahead of a Government review in the autumn. Last year alone, the government paid out £2.8 billion on claims, and an estimated £58.2 billion is needed for future clinical negligence costs - a sum recently identified as being the government’s second largest liability after nuclear decommissioning.

“At a time when NHS finances are in such a parlous state, and there much to be done to transform patient care and services, sums like these are unsustainable. A comprehensive, long-overdue strategy - which balances fair compensation for patients and affordability for the NHS - is urgently needed.”

- On the ambition to make the NHS the most AI‑enabled health system in the world:

“We welcome the Government’s drive to ensure AI brings about a more efficient and responsive healthcare system. With the potential for AI to be deployed in multiple ways, we are at a turning point, and it is an exciting time to be part of the medical profession.

“To unlock the potential benefits of AI technologies to patients however, more could be done to generate confidence in AI tools among the clinicians using them, so they are reassured that they are usable, useful, and safe both for themselves and their patients. At MPS, we will continue do everything we can to ensure that message is heard by the government, AI developers and regulators, and we will also continue provide advice which helps clinicians understand and mitigate any emergent risks in relation to the use of AI.”

ENDS

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About MPS

The Medical Protection Society Limited (“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. Membership provides access to expert advice and support and can also provide, depending on the type of membership required, the right to request indemnity for any complaints or claims arising from professional practice.

Our in-house experts assist with the wide range of legal and ethical problems that arise from professional practice. This can include clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries.

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.