General Medical Council
Publishes new guidance on professional indemnity cover

The General Medical Council (GMC) now has the power to check that any doctor working in the UK has this in place and can refuse to grant or remove a doctor’s license if they do not.

Further to this, doctors must also make sure that there is an option for patients to be compensated in the event of a medical malpractice claim even if they have since retired or stopped working as claims can occur many years after the event has taken place.

The GMC has made it clear that the responsibility lies with doctors to ensure that their indemnity arrangements are at the correct level for the risks and nature of their work. It also urges them to speak to their medical defence organisation or insurer about their indemnity to ensure that they will be able to meet the legal requirement for appropriate cover.

The GMC has also requested that officers should be actively asking doctors about their indemnity arrangements as part of the revalidation process. We can help you to meet these requirements with our medical malpractice cover which meets NHS contractual requirements as well as any liabilities concerning your business.

If you are an NHS employed doctor, the organisation you work for should provide NHS indemnity through a clinical negligence scheme; however you should consider whether you need additional cover for work which isn’t included such as medico-legal reports or signing cremation certificates.

Plus if you are a locum working for an NHS or HSC trust, while you are usually indemnified by the NHS or DHSSPS you should check your contract carefully to ensure they have provided the adequate level of indemnity, if not we can provide the appropriate locum insurance. If you are going to work as a locum GP, or locum for a private healthcare provider, you will need to arrange adequate and appropriate indemnity for that work which we can also help with.

To read the full guidelines please visit the GMC website.