GPs and practice staff accused of clinical negligence linked to triaging online requests following the October contract changes will be indemnified, NHS Resolution has clarified.
From 1 October, GPs will need to keep online systems open for patient requests between 8am and 6.30pm for routine enquiries – but the BMA is arguing that because the systems cannot tell the difference between routine and urgent, serious problems could be ‘lost inside the huge haystack of unmet patient need’.
The union raised concerns about clinical liability related to this, saying that while the agreement within the contract stipulates that this new policy is ‘not intended to cover urgent requests’, there is ‘no practical way’ to ensure this and a patient ‘may not be aware that the symptoms they have require urgent attention’.
Now NHS Resolution – which runs the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP), the state indemnity scheme for general practice in England – have confirmed that where GPs or their staff are accused of clinical negligence in triaging requests for routine appointments from patients ‘via these new arrangements’, CNSGP will indemnify them.
In a letter to the BMA, chief executive Helen Vernon said: ‘NHS Resolution is happy to assist in smoothing the implementation of these changes for our beneficiaries, so far as we are able, but you will appreciate that the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP) is founded upon a Statutory Instrument and therefore we cannot go outside its limits in terms of providing cover.
‘Nevertheless, I can provide some assurance for you. Where GPs in England or their staff are accused of clinical negligence in triaging requests for routine appointments from patients via these new arrangements, CNSGP will indemnify them, subject to the usual provisions of the Regulations and Scheme Rules.’
It comes after the BMA demanded that the Government pauses the contractual changes, until ‘significant concerns’ around patient safety are addressed. Last week, the BMA also announced that, following a GP Committee vote, English GPs will re-enter dispute with the Government – over the contract change as well as the 10-year plan for health.
A version of this article was first published by our sister title Pulse
