Existing Liability Scheme for General Practice frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are updated regularly. Here you will find answers to a range of common questions we are often asked about our organisation and the services we deliver.
NHS Resolution is an arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care. Our purpose is to provide expertise to the NHS on resolving concerns fairly, sharing learning for improvement and preserving resources for patient care.
If you have an ongoing case, you should have details of your dedicated case handler who can talk to you about any aspect of your case. NHS Resolution’s GP indemnity team has a wealth of expertise in managing clinical negligence claims across both primary and secondary care. NHS Resolution will instruct lawyers from its approved panel, all of whom are highly skilled and experienced in managing clinical negligence claims. If lawyers have been instructed to manage the claim on your behalf they will be your best first point of contact.
For any general queries, please contact NHS Resolution by:
– setting out the basis of your enquiry and we will either respond by email or telephone to discuss the issue further. Do not send any documents via email as they may contain patient sensitive data. Do not include any patient sensitive data in your email.
2. Telephone – call our Claims Helpline 0800 030 6798 at any time; 24 hours a day, 365 day a year to speak to a legal advisor about any clinical negligence claims covered by ELSGP, but not medico-legal matters, which will be handled by your MDO (or any other provider).
NHS Resolution’s aim is to help you to resolve any claim for compensation brought against you by a patient in relation to their clinical care under the NHS as fairly and as quickly as possible. Claims will be investigated thoroughly and compensation will be paid where our investigation confirms that this is due. We will seek your agreement to make admissions of liability, which mirrors our approach across all indemnity schemes operated by NHS Resolution (including the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice and the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts). Where appropriate we will defend the case on your behalf, calling upon the very best expertise to do so. In all cases, we will do all that we can to keep the matter out of formal court proceedings.
In the first instance you should speak with your MDO. It is important to do this as soon as you become aware of your involvement or potential involvement in an inquest, so they can provide you with as much support as possible. Late notification may limit the extent of assistance that can be provided by your MDO.
NHS Resolution will only become involved if a claim is intimated or likely. If you believe that being involved in an inquest is linked to an incident that could result in a potential claim under the Existing Liabilities Scheme for General Practice or whether a matter should be reported, please contact NHS Resolution by:
– setting out the basis of your enquiry and we will either respond by email or telephone to discuss the issue further. Do not send any documents via email as they may contain patient sensitive data. Do not include any patient sensitive data in your email.
2. Telephone – call our Claims Helpline 0800 030 6798 at any time; 24 hours a day, 365 day a year to speak to a legal advisor about any clinical negligence claims covered by ELSGP and not medico-legal matters that will be handled by your MDO (or any other provider).
For guidance and background NHS Resolution has made three short films providing information on what to expect when called to an inquest. They can be viewed here.
No. The ELSGP (and the CNSGP) provides unlimited and comprehensive clinical negligence cover for the care, diagnosis and treatment of NHS patients. All compensation costs and legal costs will be met by NHS Resolution on your behalf, subject to compliance with scheme rules.
All providers of NHS primary medical services who were members of the MDDUS or MPS at the time that an incident occurred giving rise to an historic liability, and any practice staff working for the MDDUS or MPS member at the time of that incident, are covered under the ELSGP. This includes out of hours providers.
In addition to NHS primary medical services, any other NHS services provided by or for general practice are also covered under ELSGP (namely, NHS activities carried out by or for a provider whose principal activity is to provide NHS primary medical services). These ‘other’ NHS services are referred to as “ancillary health services”.
Those providers whose cover is with a medical defence organisation (MDO) other than the MDDUS or the MPS, are not currently covered by ELSGP and should continue to liaise with their MDO.
As above, ELSGP covers all providers of NHS primary medical services (and, in some instances, providers of NHS ancillary healthcare that was provided as part of, or for, general practice) who were members of the MDDUS or MPS at the time that an incident occurred giving rise to an historic liability, and any practice staff working for the MDDUS or MPS member at the time of that incident. This includes out of hours providers.
No other agreements with medical defence organisations or indemnity providers are in place. For now, non-MDDUS and non-MPS members should continue to liaise with their MDO or indemnity provider in the usual way.
The ELSGP is not a membership scheme. Individuals do not need to pay for ELSGP. If you have an ongoing claim that MDDUS is handling and which relates to an incident that occurred during your period of membership with MDDUS, then NHS Resolution, which is administering ELSGP on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 6 April 2020 will, in the first instance, also be responsible for claims handling.
Some primary care practitioners are required to purchase run off cover because they had non-occurrence based indemnity arrangements to cover clinical negligence claims arising from incidents before 1 April 2019.
This only applies to primary care practitioners who had a claims-paid or claims-made indemnity arrangement or insurance policy at the time the incident occurred. It does not apply to MPS members or to MDDUS members who had an occurrence-based membership arrangement.
A claim is a formal request for compensation as a result of something that has gone wrong in relation to a patient’s healthcare. It should be made in writing and can come directly from the patient or a family member, or from their lawyer or representative.
The claims process is separate from a complaint or other investigation, although the same set of facts can give rise to both. Where a case includes multiple issues, such as an inquest and/or General Medical Council (GMC) proceedings, we will work closely with your medical defence organisation/indemnity provider to ensure that they are managed in a consistent manner.
Irrespective of whether a claim has been brought or is likely, it is extremely important that you are open and transparent with the patient and spend time with them to explain what has happened.
If their care was not as it should have been, you should apologise. An apology is not an admission of liability and should always be offered when something has gone wrong. Our guidance, “Saying Sorry”, is available here.
NHS Resolution’s aim is to help you to resolve any claim for compensation brought against you by a patient in relation to their clinical care under the NHS as fairly and as quickly as possible. Claims will be investigated thoroughly and compensation will be paid where our investigation confirms that this is due. Where that is not the case, we will defend the case on your behalf, calling upon the very best expertise to do so.
If you are an MDDUS member with an existing claim which was being handled by MDDUS prior to 6 April 2020, you do not need to re-notify this to NHS Resolution. The transfer of your claim has been handled directly between NHS Resolution and MDDUS.
If you receive a Letter of Notification or Letter of Claim (which are the two different pre-action documents which commence a claim) it is important that you contact NHS Resolution as early as possible as this will give us the best possible opportunity to protect your position and ensure that deadlines are met. You can find further details here.
It may also be appropriate to notify us of any incidents where a formal claim has not been commenced but is likely to be. Further details on what kind of incidents may be high risk for a claim are here. If you are not sure whether an incident should be reported you can contact NHS Resolution for advice.
Bear in mind NHS Resolution indemnity schemes do not cover any private (non-NHS work), nor activities outside of the scheme scope. If in doubt, you should discuss the particular circumstances or issue with your MDO or other indemnity provider or contact NHS Resolution.
If you have any concerns regarding whether a claim falls within ELSGP or whether a matter should be reported, please contact NHS Resolution by:
1. Email – ELSGPnotifications@resolution.nhs.uk – setting out the basis of your enquiry and we will either respond by email or telephone to discuss the issue further. Do not send any documents via email as they may contain patient sensitive data. Do not include any patient sensitive data in your email.
2. Telephone – call our Claims Helpline 0800 030 6798 at any time; 24 hours a day, 365 day a year to speak to a legal advisor about any clinical negligence claims covered by ELSGP and not medico-legal matters that will be handled by your MDO (or another provider).
It is essential when reporting a claim to NHS Resolution and providing documents that you do so securely to ensure that personal data (including but not restricted to that of a patient) is protected. When reporting a claim to NHS Resolution, complete the Claim Notification Form once it has been sent to you, and, where available, send us the following documents:
1. The section of the patient’s GP records which relates to the period of treatment which is the subject of the claim.
2. Letter of Notification or Letter of Claim or some other request for compensation from the patient or their solicitors;
3. Claim Form, Particulars of Claim – court documents commencing a clinical negligence claim;
4. All correspondence with the patient or their solicitors;
5. All correspondence relating to any complaint that may have been made by the patient;
6. Written comments, witness statements and reports you may have previously prepared, for example in preparation for a complaint response, inquest or regulatory hearing that relates to the relevant incident that is, or may be, the subject of a claim;
7. Any independent expert evidence that may have previously been obtained, for example in preparation for an inquest or regulatory hearing (if provided to you by your MDO);
8. Notes or associated documents from any inquest, including the details of the Coroner’s conclusion (if provided to you by your MDO); and
9. Any Serious Incident Investigation Report or any other report into a patient safety incident.
10. In addition, to the documents listed 2 – 9 above please provide details of any other legal or regulatory process relating to the same incident the subject of this notification to NHS Resolution, previously notified and managed by the MDDUS on your behalf.
The documents listed 2 – 9 above should not be included in a patient’s GP notes and should be kept separately. Where material, such as expert reports or witness statements, has been prepared in order to assist your personal defence in respect of another legal or regulatory process then you should discuss with your MDO or legal team before disclosing it to us.
NHS Resolution does not cover GMC inquiries and representation. You are advised to discuss circumstances with your MDO. If you believe that being reported to the GMC is linked to an incident that could result in a potential claim under the Existing Liabilities Scheme for General Practice or whether a matter should be reported, please contact NHS Resolution by:
– setting out the basis of your enquiry and we will either respond by email or telephone to discuss the issue further. Do not send any documents via email as they may contain patient sensitive data. Do not include any patient sensitive data in your email.
2. Telephone – call our Claims Helpline 0800 030 6798 at any time; 24 hours a day, 365 day a year to speak to a legal advisor about any clinical negligence claims covered by ELSGP and not medico-legal matters that will be handled by your MDO (or any other provider).
If you have any concerns regarding whether a claim falls within ELSGP or whether a matter should be reported, please contact NHS Resolution by:
– setting out the basis of your enquiry and we will either respond by email or telephone to discuss the issue further. Do not send any documents via email as they may contain patient sensitive data. Do not include any patient sensitive data in your email.
2. Telephone – call our Claims Helpline 0800 030 6798 at any time; 24 hours a day, 365 day a year to speak to a legal advisor about any clinical negligence claims covered by ELSGP and not medico-legal matters that will be handled by your MDO (or any other provider).
In summary, NHS resolution will be responsible for managing any claims for clinical negligence on your behalf. This will include:
Carrying out investigations, including collation of documents, comments from those involved, preparing statements and obtaining evidence from independent experts;
Providing advice on process, the legal framework and whether and acceptance of liability will be needed
Managing the compensation, including an assessment of the value of the claim, whether any other parties should share responsibility and conducting negotiations and arranging for payments to be made
NHS Resolution will not be able to help with inquest and regulatory processes for which you should speak with your MDO.
Yes. For any ongoing cases, NHS Resolution will be in touch with you on how your cases will be managed and what you can expect from us.
For any new cases, shortly after notification, you will be provided with details on what to expect from the claims process and NHS Resolution.
NHS Resolution is a Special Health Authority with responsibility for providing indemnity in relation to clinical negligence claims against the NHS in England. Processing and storage of information is in accordance with our responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. To learn more about how NHS Resolution will collect and use claims management data, please see our privacy policy here.
