Appropriate clinical negligence cover
Detail of outcome
Feedback received
Detail of feedback received
The publication of responses was delayed to enable consideration alongside the findings of the 2020 Paterson inquiry. The government’s response to the Paterson inquiry committed to publishing this summary in 2022. We are grateful to all those who contributed.
This consultation sought views on 2 options regarding appropriate clinical cover for regulated healthcare professionals:
- To leave arrangements as they currently are (thereby permitting discretionary indemnity cover to remain in the market without regulatory oversight).
- To change legislation to ensure that all healthcare professionals not covered by a state-backed indemnity scheme hold appropriate clinical cover that is subject to appropriate supervision – in the case of UK insurers by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.
The government’s preferred option (subject to the outcome of the consultation) was option 2. However, the consultation recognised that there could be difficulties arising from a move to regulated products, including in any transition. The consultation also asked a range of further questions on related issues.
The consultation generated 101 responses. The majority of respondents who answered the question were in support of the government’s preferred option 2. Overall, it was recognised that this would bring additional costs, but the majority of respondents said that the perceived benefits (including greater consumer confidence, increased transparency for healthcare professionals, and greater security and certainty of cover) would outweigh these costs.
Next steps
In December 2021, the government set out next steps on appropriate clinical negligence cover in its response to recommendation 10 of the Paterson inquiry report. We continue to work closely with stakeholders on these issues, taking account of the responses to this consultation along with wider evidence we are collecting.
The government will provide further updates on these issues in its wider progress reporting against the recommendations in the Paterson inquiry implementation update.
Original consultation
Consultation description
This consultation is about indemnity cover for healthcare professionals who purchase their own indemnity cover because they are not covered by existing or proposed state-backed schemes.
It seeks views on 2 options:
- Leave arrangements as they are.
- Change legislation to require healthcare professionals who are not covered by any state-backed scheme to hold cover that is regulated.
Currently, all healthcare professionals who wish to practise in the UK are legally required to hold appropriate clinical negligence cover for the costs of claims and damages awarded to patients arising out of negligence.
There are concerns that the current arrangements held by healthcare professionals who are not covered by state-backed schemes could prevent patients getting appropriate compensation and put healthcare professionals at risk of being personally liable for the costs of claims.
This is because these arrangements are mostly discretionary, where the providers are not contractually obliged to meet the costs of any claim and are not subject to prudential or financial conduct regulation.
The groups that are likely to be most affected by any changes to the current indemnity arrangements are:
- regulated professionals in the NHS who hold indemnity cover which is not currently regulated, such as primary care dentistry
- private practice of medical doctors and other regulated healthcare professionals
- healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland and Scotland who are not covered by any state-backed indemnity scheme, such as GPs
Documents
Updates to this page
Last updated 15 December 2022 + show all updates
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Added summary of consultation responses.
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The reference to the Ipsos Mori survey result in paragraph 4.27 of the consultation document has been updated to clarify the breakdown of respondents to this question.
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First published.