Sunday, August 23, 2009

Medical Defence Union - Are you wasting your money?

Following on from my previous post, (click here for a link) a couple of people have made contact and with the Kulkani case reflecting well on the Medical Protection Society (click here for Kulkani link) (This case enables a doctor to have proper representation at a hearing where his employment is at stake. )

The score now stands at Medical Protection Society - 3, Medical Defence Union - 0

Management within the NHS is deteriorating as reflected by an average of 10.7 sick days per employee (click here). Poor management increases sickness absence, and the chances that a doctor or other employee will be suspended, appear before the General Medical Council, or other regulatory body, even when it is the fault of the employers or University. As happened to the young doctors in Cardiff last week (click here).

Making the right choice, Medical Protection Society or Medical Defence Union could mean the diffference between getting legal representation and finding lawyers who want you to win, rather than the sort who like to keep their snouts in the medical legal gravy train. It seems to me, that as soon as the going gets tough, the Medical Defence Union drops the doctor. (On the whim of a medical legal adviser, which is what happened to the two doctors who contacted me over the weekend.)

You may think it won't happen to you. Unfortunately bad management is everywhere and, like the first gentle hug of a python's squeeze, you may not know what is happening until its too late.

Choose your membership carefully. Because, like a parachute, if the time comes and you need to use it, its too late to change.

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.lizmiller.info

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