Call to reform private doctors’ indemnity
Critical issues impacting doctors in their private and NHS work must be fast-tracked by the next government, according to a defence body.
It is urging for action to tackle rising clinical negligence costs which impact on self-employed private practitioners who are not covered by a state-backed indemnity scheme and bear the cost of protecting themselves against claims.
Priorities for the Next Government, from Medical Protection, sets out a raft of reforms it says should be prioritised after the general election, including improvements to the ways doctors are held to account.
The next Government needs to substantially improve accountability in the healthcare profession by ensuring the way doctors are held to account are fair, sensitive and proportionate, it says.
This includes acting on a long-overdue commitment to remove the GMC’s right of appeal over decisions made by fitness-to-practise panels.
Doctors’ defence representatives say this was a central recommendation of the Williams Review, but despite the Government agreeing to the reform in 2018, the legislative amendments have yet to be introduced.
Prof Jane Dacre
Medical Protection president Prof Dame Jane Dacre said although doctors expect to be accountable for the healthcare they provide, they also have a right to anticipate that when they are held to account, it is done fairly, proportionately, efficiently and sensitively.
She observed: ‘Sadly, we see first-hand when supporting private clinicians through various processes that this is not always the case.
‘Few areas of regulation in the UK are more overdue reform than healthcare professional regulation. Thousands of doctors go through stressful and slow GMC processes each year, with the regulator working within the confines of legislation that is over 40 years old.
‘As we approach the general election, the priorities we have set out tackle the serious challenges healthcare professionals face through the implementation of practical policy commitments that would deliver enormous benefits for healthcare professionals and their patients.’
Action to end to the criminalisation of medical errors also features in the defence body’s list of priorities for the next Government to ensure gross negligence manslaughter charges are only brought against doctors if an act is proved to be intentional, reckless or grossly careless.