The Medical Protection Society (MPS) is one of the three UK mutual protection organisations for

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

, dental and healthcare professionals. (Dentists are covered through its subsidiary company Dental Protection). It protects and supports the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world (including the United Kingdom,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

plus the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

). Members of MPS can benefit from access to indemnity, expert advice and peace of mind. Advisers are on hand to talk through a question or concern. MPS' in-house experts assist with the wide range of

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

problems that arise from professional practice. This includes clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries. MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. MPS is one of three major medical defence organizations (MDOs) in the country. The main competitor of MPS is the

Medical Defence Union The Medical Defence Union (MDU) is the largest medical defence organisation (MDO) in the United Kingdom, offering professional medical indemnity for clinical negligence claims and advice provided by medico-legal experts for its members. A mutual n ...

(MDU). Other competitors include Premium Medical Protection (PMP) and the

Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS) is one of three major medical defence organisations (MDOs) in the UK and offers professional indemnity and expert medico-legal and dento-legal advice for doctors, dentists and other health ...

(MDDUS). MPS was founded in 1892, with just 13 original members all practising in the

home counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inc ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and in 2020 had over 300,000 members worldwide.

Indemnity

MPS aims to help doctors with ethical and legal problems that arise from their clinical practice. Members of MPS look to the organization for medicolegal advice and

indemnification In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

for the legal costs in defence of their professional reputations. MPS also pays out damages for

clinical negligence Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...

. However, it is not an

insurance company Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

; MPS offers funds and other services to its membership body at the discretion of a council of representative members. The Council's obligations and powers are set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. A copy of this is sent to members when they join MPS.

Functions

Some of the services provided by MPS include: * Advice and legal representation - The right to request advice and legal representation for coroner's inquests, disciplinary and regulatory proceedings and criminal investigations related to your professional practice * Clinical negligence - The right to request indemnity for clinical negligence claims (not covered by NHS indemnity) and Good Samaritan acts worldwide * Complaints support - Help to respond and to resolve patient complaints * Medicolegal advice - Medicolegal advice line including out of hours emergency support 24/7 * Expert legal team - Access to a dedicated expert legal team which may include clinical negligence solicitors, medicolegal consultants and professional claims managers * Professional development workshops and online courses - Workshops, online courses and webinars with accredited CPD to develop your communication and risk management skills * Risk management resources - Access to online publications and case reports * Confidential counselling service - Access to confidential counselling service to support you through a stressful case or claim * Help with unwanted media attention - Expert support including preparing statements and responding to the media on your behalf * Lobbying - To bring about a sensible regulatory environment to provide a safer environment for patients and healthcare professionals. The MPS has offices in Leeds, London and Edinburgh and is present in several overseas locations including New Zealand and Australia.

Footnotes

External links

Official homepage
{{authority control Health in Yorkshire International medical and health organizations Medical associations based in the United Kingdom Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Leeds Organizations established in 1892