The rising cost of compensation affects doctors, patients and the public, putting a huge strain on NHS resources and diverting vital funds away from where they are needed most. There is no disputing that patients should be properly compensated if something goes wrong with their treatment, but damages awards must be fair and reasonable.

To this end, we are campaigning for a fairer system. We propose a change to S2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948, which requires personal injury defendants to disregard the availability of NHS care when funding. We also recommend that patients who are negligently damaged should receive a care package that will ensure their health and care needs are met in a reasonable way and a cap on earnings costs.

For more information or to get involved, visit our Fair compensation pages.

#faircomp

Peninsula Face2Face

Employee issues can be fraught and time-consuming for GP practices, not least because of the minefield of employment laws and regulations that must be negotiated. Peninsula Face2Face is an impartial consultancy service for MDU GROUPCARE members that takes the headache out of managing the legal aspects of employee relations, such as:

• grievances
• disciplinary procedures
• redundancy and TUPE consultations
• settlement meetings
• appeals.

Peninsula Face2Face is provided by our partners Peninsula Business Services.

As the name suggests, Peninsula Face2Face offers face-to-face assistance with employment law meetings with an employee. A paralegal can assist with the legally compliant arrangements for the meeting. An employment law consultant can attend to conduct the meeting for you, or with you. They can also carry out any necessary investigations and make written recommendations to resolve the matter.

Using Peninsula Face2Face, you can be assured that employment matters are conducted in accordance with employment law and best practice.

GROUPCARE members can request and pay for this service where and when additional employment law support is needed. The cost is based on a day rate, and discounts of between 5% and 10% apply, depending on the GROUPCARE scheme you belong to.

For more information, see the MDU website or call Peninsula on 0161 827 8561 or 0844 892 3911 and quote your MDU GROUPCARE scheme number.

Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015

The new Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 (known as the SARAH Act) applies to someone who is present at an incident as a bystander and steps in to help. If a claim for negligence is later brought against the Good Samaritan, courts in England and Wales must take into account whether the person acted for the ‘benefit of society’ and took a ‘predominantly responsible approach’ in protecting other people.

A recent survey published by the MDU showed that a significant number of doctors have been called on to help in an emergency. This is part of a doctor’s ethical duty, and the MDU is not aware that any doctor has been sued in the UK for helping in an emergency.

Nevertheless, doctors can be apprehensive about doing so because of a fear of litigation. Rather than being deterred from volunteering because of the risk of being sued, doctors can take comfort that the law offers protection to anyone acting responsibly.

MDU members who act as Good Samaritans while overseas on business or holiday are also reassured that their MDU membership provides access to indemnity for Good Samaritan acts anywhere in the world.

Make compensation fair to all

The MDU’s Fair Compensation campaign aims to raise awareness of the need to tackle the unsustainable cost of clinical negligence claims.

The campaign has already drawn support from MDU members, many of whom have written to their MP. This important issue hit the headlines again in late June as the MDU welcomed new Government proposals to cap excessive legal fees in clinical negligence claims.

Damages awards to patients in the UK are higher than most other countries - claims inflation has been increasing annually by 10% in recent times and compensation awards are likely to double in value in seven years.