Medical indemnity: Our guide to recent clinical governance updates

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, having proper protection is vital.

Today’s society is a lot more litigious than previous generations, with more and more patients prepared to make claims in situations of negligence or malpractice. 

For this reason, staying on top of the intricacies involved in medical indemnity is imperative. Put simply, without regularly reviewing your cover, you may not be protected in the same way you think you are. 

With this in mind, join us as we take a deep dive into some of the latest updates within the world of clinical governance, outlining what these changes mean for you and giving our expert insight into the latest goings on. 

Elective Recovery Taskforce: Indemnity could impact patient access

Having the right medical indemnity cover is not just important from a protection point of view. In light of recent movements by the UK Government, you actually might not be able to help patients in the same way without it. 

This is because the Government’s Elective Recovery Taskforce has been set up to explore ways that maximise the contribution and capacity of the independent sector to tackle NHS waiting lists. 

One such proposition comes through giving patients the right to receive NHS-funded private healthcare via the NHS app, offering them more freedom of choice over their healthcare. 

Now in effect, patients have a right to choose where they want to be seen, which can include private providers willing to take on NHS-funded work. 

However, as part of this, checks will be made to ensure all practitioners have the appropriate indemnity cover required to work on NHS-commissioned services. If they don't, they won’t be able to even apply for it. 

This therefore proves just how crucial it is to review your indemnity moving forward, to ensure you have the appropriate cover in place.

GMC: Regularly review your policy

While on the topic of ‘appropriate cover’, the General Medical Council (GMC) recently published updates to their Good Medical Practice for 2024 – guidance that sets out the standards of patient care and professional behaviour expected of all doctors in the UK, across all specialities, career stages and sectors. 

With the changes due to come into effect on 30th January 2024, one of the key domains in the latest version talks about trust and integrity, highlighting the importance of having ‘appropriate’ medical indemnity cover. 

It states: “You must make sure that you have appropriate and adequate insurance or indemnity that covers the full scope of your practice. You should keep your level of cover under regular review.”

The purpose of this guidance is to ‘empower doctors to provide quality care’ so the fact that the latest guidance again highlights the need for regular indemnity reviews is a strong takeaway. 

MPAF: Ensure your cover is ‘appropriate’

Initially launched back in October 2019, the MPAF was ‘refreshed’ in late September 2022 to further improve the safety and quality of care that independent providers deliver to their patients. 

Since its launch, many private hospitals have embraced the changes, and now regularly use it to review and update their practices to ensure they are adhering to the latest medical governance practices. 

Within the refreshed version of the framework, the ‘Dataset for practising privileges’ section outlines the key information required for practicing privileges to be agreed upon between an individual practitioner and a private hospital. 

As part of this, it states that in order to be granted practicing privileges or maintain practicing privileges, practitioners must have a “valid certificate of adequate insurance cover through an insurance company or medical indemnity cover through a Medical Defence Organisation to an appropriate level.” 

This recent update again uses the word ‘appropriate’, highlighting the need for practitioners to review their current cover and clarify whether they’re not only suitably protected but also supporting the hospital by ensuring they are adhering to the MPAF’s guidelines. 

Review your cover with Howden 

As the spotlight on good clinical governance continues to shine even brighter, now is the time to ensure that both you and your patients are protected, by reviewing all of the latest regulatory requirements.  

However, we recognise that the world of medical indemnity insurance can be a confusing place, and it’s not always easy to identify which type of coverage is right for you. 

That’s why, here at Howden, we aim to make the reviewing process as straightforward as possible, providing you with the information and guidance you need to make an informed decision.

“Regularly reviewing your policy is really important,” according to Simon Gale – Divisional Director at Howden Insurance Brokers Ltd. 

“It’s not just about carrying on doing what you’ve always done. It’s about checking that what you’re doing is still fit for purpose and suits the requirements of both you and your patients.”

If you would like our team of experts to review your current policy – or if you have any questions on the clinical governance changes mentioned above – get in touch and we’d be happy to help.