GPST: England and Wales

The Government has said the scheme in England will provide GPs with indemnity against clinical negligence claims arising from NHS contracted work. It will extend to all GPs and all other staff working in delivery of primary medical services. It will automatically cover contractor and salaried GPs, GP locums, GPs in training and other schemes such as retainers, prison GPs, nurses, allied health professionals and the wider NHS primary care work, including out-of-hours cover. The Welsh Government plan to implement a similar scheme to that planned for England. Close

The MOD have chosen not to be part of the scheme so GPs working for them will not be covered by CNSGP. Military doctors are covered under the terms of their engagement and we recommend that civilian GPs providing services to MOD facilities liaise with the MOD to ensure that these arrangements extend to them too. Close

CNSGP and GMPI were introduced on April 1, 2019. Close

As yet there are no final details on how CNSGP will work, but the DHSC has confirmed it will be administered and run by NHS Resolution and will cover clinical negligence liabilities for work carried out as part of their NHS contract. It will cover providers on GMS, PMS, APMS and standard NHS contracts and provide indemnity for clinical negligence for all staff including students and trainees. GPs will therefore be covered through the GP practices that they work in, rather than individually as is now the case.

Government is committed to funding the GMPI now and in future years. It is still unclear whether and if so how the new state-backed scheme will take on responsibility for historic claims - i.e. cases that are ongoing when the scheme begins and those that come to light later but relate to incidents that happened before the scheme started. We are in detailed discussions with Government on this issue, seeking to protect members’ financial and professional interests.

As with most of the questions on this proposed scheme we are awaiting more detail from the government before we can fully answer all the issues. We will update members when we know more.

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The costs of the scheme will be met by NHS England. It will be centrally-funded through a one-off permanent adjustment to the global sum. Future costs of NHS practice under the scheme will be funded centrally, not met individually or by practices. Close

Absolutely. CNSGP/GMPI will not cover you for non-NHS work, representation at inquests, GMC hearings and disciplinary investigations. Such situations can seriously impact your career and could ultimately result in you being struck off. The scheme will also not include advice and support – something highly prized by MDDUS members. It is therefore crucial that you have access to support and guidance from experienced medico-legal advisers.

That’s why the BMA has advised: "The scope of the state-backed scheme is to cover the cost of clinical negligence for NHS services. The MDOs will continue to play an important role in providing legal advice, representation for GMC hearings and also for the rare occasion where a criminal case occurs. Similar to hospital colleagues, it will be essential to maintain such medical indemnity."

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No, we will automatically transfer you onto our new General Practice Protection (GPP) product. However, we would urge you to login to your secure membership portal (click "Login" at the top right of the screen) and check that your subscription has been calculated appropriately. Close

Over the last 12 months alone, MDDUS have dealt with nearly 4,000 new cases from GP members and answered over 6,500 advice calls from GP members relating to these issues which will not be included in CNSGP/GMPI. Close

The schemes have been designed in a similar manner to the NHS indemnity provided to your colleagues within secondary care. As a result the schemes will only provide indemnity for NHS work and will not extend assistance to the individual practitioner’s professional issues e.g. assistance with disciplinary matters, GMC hearings, coroner’s inquests, Good Samaritan acts and non-NHS clinical work. Close

The BMA recently reminded GPs of the importance of retaining their MDO subscription when CNSGP/GMPI is introduced in April 2019. Advice from the BMA states that GPs “still need to retain membership of an MDO” and “MDOs will continue to play an important role in providing legal advice, representation for GMC hearings and also for the rare occasion where a criminal case occurs.”

You can read the BMA advice here and our statement welcoming the BMA advice here.

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CNSGP/FLS will only provide indemnity for work undertaken within a GMS, PMS and APMS contract along with other services delivered under a standard NHS contract. As a result you have a professional obligation to arrange indemnity for private clinical work, writing insurance reports, travel vaccination clinics etc. which MDDUS will provide. In addition, the schemes will not extend assistance to the individual practitioner’s professional issues e.g. assistance with disciplinary matters, GMC hearings, coroner's inquests, Good Samaritan acts and non-NHS clinical work - but MDDUS will. Close

One of the most valuable benefits of a mutual organisation is that the MDDUS doesn't have shareholders and does not pay dividends to its members.  That means all the income generated by subscriptions is invested back into the organisation and member services, and in the maintenance of a healthy reserve to cover legal costs and claims.  This, coupled with our sound financial acumen, means that we maintain very competitive subscription rates and have built a financially strong organisation

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MDDUS has been providing support and indemnity to medical and dental professionals for over 115 years. We pride ourselves on offering a quality, personalised service provided by our team of medico- and dento-legal advisers who are recognised as some of the leading UK experts in their field. Our members can enjoy the security and peace of mind which comes with receiving this high level of service at a competitive price. Our expertise has been invaluable in supporting our members when they need us.

Over the past 10 years, MDDUS has successfully defended more than 75 per cent of claims notified and, in the rare event of a case progressing to trial, the majority of our members are successfully defended. In 2011 more than 96 per cent of GMC complaints were resolved without the need to progress to a fitness to practise hearing.

We are proud to say that, in an independent survey carried out by market research firm GfK, MDDUS ranked highest of all UK mutual medical defence organisations for member satisfaction (online poll of 695 defence organisation members conduced by GfK, NOP May 2012; rating of satisfaction with overall services/resources provided).

MDDUS also enjoys a superior rating from Dun & Bradstreet, the leading global business information provider, which further underlines the financial strength of our organisation

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MDDUS members are indemnified to work anywhere in the UK but not Gibraltar or the Falkland Islands. Should they wish to work in Guernsey then they should call our Membership Services team on 0333 043 0000 to discuss. Although we do not normally operate membership outside the UK, we do indemnify members for Good Samaritan acts anywhere in the world, which are not covered by any other indemnity or insurance arrangements.

 

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NHS England has confirmed that indemnity for the administering of flu vaccinations to practice staff falls out of scope of the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP). The BMA has raised concerns over the issue with NHS England and Public Health England citing the need to ensure that all NHS staff are fully protected during flu season. MDDUS, in response to member concerns, has decided to extend indemnity for staff flu vaccinations to our general practice group schemes and individual GP members (including nurses administering the vaccination as a delegated task) across the UK (including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). This is a temporary measure over the winter (2019-20) until the issue can be fully addressed by the NHS. Close