The State Backed Indemnity Scheme

By now, GP’s across the country will be aware that medical indemnity will be supplied through the Governments state backed indemnity scheme as of the 1st April 2019, meaning that GP’s will no longer need to pay for their medical indemnity costs going forward. The scheme which was announced in 2017 is the Government’s response to attract, increase and retain the number of GP’s in the UK, which has shown a stark decline over the last five years. Yearly rising indemnity costs and declinatures for indemnity by Medical Defence Organisations (MDO’s) were, and continue to be contributing factors of the decline in GP numbers. The scheme will therefore be a welcomed change to many current and prospective GP’s, who may see the new initiative as a “light at the end of tunnel” which may prove to be career defining. The Scheme will cover all NHS commissioned work including Partners, salaried, locum and out-of-hours commissioned NHS services. All members of the practice team, including those supervised by GPs e.g. nurse practitioners and paramedics, will also be covered by the scheme.

Does the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) cover all types of claims?

No. The scheme will only cover for clinical negligence (medical malpractice) claims, through the administration of the NHS Litigation Authority. The scheme will not provide any legal advice, regulatory or GMC representation, criminal defences or employment assistance to GP’s. It is therefore vital that GP’s do not see the scheme as an easy way to save on costs. Appropriate representation is still required for the aforementioned circumstances which leave GP’s with a massive exposure to claims. At Servca, we have developed our ServCare package for just these scenarios. Get in contact to learn more and visit our website where we have outlined the coverage specifics you receive when you join our Medical Union ServCare. E: erajadurai@servca.comT: 02078 469010