Edition Number 35: 28th September 2018

1

ASSOCIATION NEWS

We are delighted to announce the appointment of two new Directors this week.

Mr Christopher Lewis has been appointed as Director of Education and Mr Siong-Seng Liau has been appointed as Director of Finance-elect.

We also have a new Regional Representative for the South West, Ms Katie Cross.

We look forward to working with our new team members!

WOMEN IN SURGERY SYMPOSIUM 5TH OCTOBER

Our Women in Surgery Symposium is now a week away.

If you are planning to attend, we encourage you to register as soon as possible.

We have 10 travel bursaries available for ASGBI members.

Why Attend? The Women in Surgery Symposium is an ideal opportunity to network with colleagues and share experiences. You’ll hear inspiring stories from women who have been trailblazers in surgery and also get useful advice on leadership and how to manage work life balance.

Where is it? The Symposium will take place at The International Centre Telford. Located in the Midlands, it is easy to get to by road and rail from all over the country.

The venue is a short walk or taxi ride from Telford Central Railway Station. There is a direct train to Telford from Birmingham Airport. For those who’d

Welcome to the September 2018 edition of @sgbi The President's Ezine. We are a week away from our Women in Surgery Symposium. If you have not registered yet, we encourage you to do so. We have

extended the application deadline for the position of Director of Scientific Programme elect until the 12th October, full details below. Today is the deadline for the 2018 Moynihan Travelling Fellowship. We look forward to announcing the recipient in our next issue.

prefer to drive, it is just over two hours drive from London or Leeds and there is free on site parking for all attendees.

The full programme and registraiton link can be found here:

http://asgbi.org.uk/events/Women-in-Surgery- Symposium

The meeting is free for ASGBI members to attend. To apply for a travel bursary email

EMERGENCY LAPAROTOMY MEETING 20TH NOVEMBER

The 2018 Emergency Laparotomy meeting is imminent - time to register and book leave!

Highlights will include:

New national standards of care for sick surgical patients

Is nocturnal operating necessary?

Frailty, futility and limiting care: what are the data and what are the ethics?

NELA results 2018 and should we audit differently next year? You will have the opportunity to taken part as you wish and also to discuss and inform future audit, research and pathways

How to close the abdomen after emergency laparotomy: new suture techniques?, mesh?, mesh-mediated traction? Is the laparostomy for sepsis on the wane?

Come and join us for what should be a stimulating day!

http://asgbi.org.uk/emergency-laparotomy-meeting

Registration Fees:

ASGBI Members: £36 Non Members: £180

2

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL DINNER

Members, non-members and partners are cordially invited to attend the Inaugural Dinner for Mr Iain Anderson to be held on Tuesday 20th November 2018 at The Council House, Birmingham. This follows the Emergency Laparotomy Meeting which is taking place in the same venue in central Birmingham during the day.

The evening will commence with a drinks reception at 7.15pm and dinner at 8.00pm.

Dress Code: Black Tie Cost: £65.00

Tickets are available to book here.

2019 INTERNATIONAL SURGICAL CONGRESS

Dates for your Diary: 7th - 9th May 2019.

We are delighted to announce two of our lead speakers for the 2019 Congress.

Professor Nicolas Demartines, Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department of Visceral Surgery at University Hospital CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland is the 2019 BJS Visiting Professor.

Nicolas’ clinical and surgical activity is focused on oncologic surgery, mainly hepato-pancreatico-biliary, colorectal surgery and oesophagus surgery.

His research interest includes the entire perioperative management and minimal invasive approaches especially in oncologic patients. In this field, nutrition and Enhanced Recovery. His Department’s research also focuses on the influence of postoperative complications on oncological outcome, as well as the multimodal treatment of non-operable liver metastasis, moreover, HIPEC and PIPAC (Pressurized Intra Peritoneal Chemotherapy minimal invasive).

Professor Sharon Stein, Program Director, Colon and Rectal Surgery Residency and Associate Professor of Surgery University Hospitals/Cleveland Medical Center is the 2019 Visiting Bland-Sutton Professor.

Sharon is a colorectal surgeon. She is also the Surgical Director – Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the Digestive Health Institute as well as Director – Case Acute Intestinal Failure Unit. Her special interests include colon polyps, colovaginal and colovesical and enterocutaneous fistulas, Crohn’s disease, diverticular disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Additionally she is involved with international healthcare in underserved populations. Her research includes post-operative recovery for partial bowel resection patients. Sharon is also Vice President of the Association of Women Surgeons.

We are very much looking forward to their contributions to the Congress.

VACANCIES

Please see the advertisment below for the Director of Scientific Programme Elect below.

ASGBI Regional Representatives

The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland is seeking nominations for the position of Elected Regional Representatives to sit on the ASGBI Council for the following regions:

- West Midlands - South East Coast - North West

The term is for 4 years and the newly elected representative will look after the interests of the ASGBI in their region and transmit members’ views to Council.

Please email Bhavnita Patel for further information.

3

QOLCARE STUDY GROUP: NATIONAL STUDY OF RESILIENCE AND BURNOUT IN UK DOCTORS

QOLCARE Study Group have requested that ASGBI members complete an online questionnaire that is made up of validated psychological tests. It will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

The survey aims to explore how doctors rate their professional quality of life and job satisfaction. It also aims to quantify resilience and assess what coping mechanisms doctors are using.

You will not be asked to enter any identifiable information and in that regard the survey is anonymous.

If you wish to proceed or would like some additional information before deciding whether or not to participate in this study, please follow the hyperlink below to the online survey at a time that is convenient to you in the next 8 weeks.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GVWC9GT

MEMBER FEEDBACK

We are always delighted to hear the views of our members, so please free to contact me at: president@asgbi.org.uk

Also, please feel free to forward the ezine to any of your colleagues that may be interested in joining the Association.

Best wishes,

INPUT TO THE CCSD BOARD

The Clinical Coding & Schedule Development Group (CCSD) Board are looking for input with regard to the CCSD Schedule, the common standard of procedure codes and narratives that are used within the inde-pendent healthcare sector.

Requests for new codes, narrative changes and inactivation of codes come from insurers, hospital providers and clinicians. The CCSD Working Group is responsible for reviewing these requests and, in order to ensure that the code set accurately and fully reflects current practice, often seek the advice of clinicians from within their own organisations.

CCSD would like to improve the use of clinical exper-tise during the decision-making process, in particular by gaining the expertise of independent leaders in their field. This would involve consultants, from time to time, providing advice and guidance to the CCSD Working Group on coding requests within their partic-ular area of expertise on a pecuniary basis.

The full content of the letter from CCSD can be found on our web site. If you would like to provide input, contact Bevin Manoy on 07548 712250.

BEAR GRYLLS: THE ISLAND

SHINE, the producers of Bear Grylls' The Island are looking for participants for the new series of Channel 4's Bafta winning series.

To register your interest, email theislandc4@shine.tv

A trailer for the previous series can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_W_7k9KpkA.

The closing date for applications is Monday 8th October 2018.

Professor Rowan ParksASGBI President2017-2018

4

Director of the Scientific Programme ElectCommencement Date: Shadow period (2018 – 2019)

and then take over from 2019 AGM to 2023

Term of Office: A maximum of four years, renewable at the AGM.

Background

The Association is a not-for-profit Membership Company limited by guarantee registered in England (No: 6783090). As such, good governance and management are of vital importance, and the appointed Honorary Officers form the Executive Board of Directors of the Limited Company, responsible for ensuring that the Association meets the requirements the Companies Act (2006) and of Companies House. One of the major functions of the Association is the delivery of an annual International Surgical Congress (formerly the Annual Scientific Meeting) and a Director of the Scientific Programme is now sought to lead this important function and to Chair the Association’s Scientific Committee.

The Post is appointed by interview and is for a period of four years. The duties fall within those normally supported by the NHS and the Post does not carry any remuneration either for sessional re-imbursement to the employer or as a personal honorarium. The time involved is difficult to quantify as this Post will evolve with the incumbent’s input and is likely to be onerous. The main daytime commitment will be Chairing meetings of the Scientific Committee and attending the regular meetings of the ASGBI Executive Board, National Advisory Council, and other representative committees.

5

Description of Duties

• To chair the Association’s Scientific Committee and to lead the development and to co-ordinate a portfolio of scientific activities and materials.

• To liaise with the Specialty Associations and Societies in General Surgery and, in particular, to advise the President of the day and the Executive Board of Directors on the content of the annual International Surgical Congress in close association with the Director of Education

• To report to and update the Executive Board, and the National Advisory Council, from time to time, on all scientific activities and any representative functions that the Director of the Scientific Programme performs.

• To oversee the electronic submission, marking and selection of abstracts for the International Surgical Congress and to work closely with the Association’s staff over the production of the Abstract Supplement.

• To oversee all aspects of the various scientific prizes and awards of the Association including the Moynihan Travelling Fellowship, the Moynihan prize, the John Farndon Prize, the Audio Visual Prize and all other poster and short paper prizes.

• To ensure, in collaboration with the General Manager and Industry Liaison Manager, a rolling programme of venues appropriate for the continued development of the Association’s annual International Surgical Congress.

• To be responsible with the Finance Director for the financial aspects of the scientific activities of the Association.

Administrative and Office Support

• Administrative support will be through the Association’s Office.• Travelling expenses will be in accordance with the Policies of the Association in force at the time.

Key Relationships of the Post

Reports directly to the President and works in partnership with the General Manager and other members of the Executive Board of Directors.

Works in partnership with the Scientific Leads of the Specialty Associations and Societies in General Surgery.

Works closely with the Association’s staff, including the Communications & Events Manager, the Industry Liaison Manager and the Membership Manager.

Membership of ASGBI Committees

The Director of the Scientific Programme is Chairman of the Association’s Scientific Committee. Additionally, as a member of the Executive Board, the Director of the Scientific Programme is, ex-officio, a member of the following committees:

• National Advisory Council.• Education and Training Board.• Website Management Group. Application process

Appointment will be by competitive interview. Applications, in the form of a covering letter and a brief CV, should be submitted by email to: bhavnita@asgbi.org.uk

The closing date for the receipt of applications has been extended until midnight on Friday 12th October 2018.

6

2018 Moynihan Travelling Fellowship

Association of Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland

About The prestigious Moynihan Travelling Fellowship, up to the value of £5,000, is available annually by open competition to Specialist Registrars towards the end of higher surgical training or Consultants within five years of appointment at the closing date of application. The Fellowship is intended to enable the successful candidate to broaden their education and to present and discuss their contribution to British and Irish surgery overseas. It is not appropriate, however, that the award be used as part-funding for an off-service year of training.

Conditions & How to Apply

The Fellowship is open to ASGBI members and non-members; however, if a non-member is successful in getting the Fellowship, then they will be required to become a member of the Association. Candidates must be residents of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland and they should be engaged in general surgery or in one of its specialties

A full curriculum vitae should be submitted giving details of all past and present appointments and publications, together with a detailed account of the proposed programme of travel, costs involved and objectives to be achieved during the Fellowship.

ProcessShort-listed candidates will be invited for interview by the Association’s Executive Board. The Board will pay particular attention to originality, scope and feasibility of the proposed itinerary. The successful candidate will be expected to act as an ambassador for British and Irish surgery and should be fully acquainted with the aims and objectives of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland and its role in surgery.

After the Fellowship, the successful candidate will be required to provide a written report of their Fellowship for inclusion in the Association’s Journal, and to address a future ASGBI International Surgical Congress. A critical appraisal of the centres visited, together with an assessment of how the experience will enhance future personal and professional development, should form the basis of the report.

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

Applications should be submitted, by 17.00 on Friday 28th September 2018 by email to bhavnita@asgbi.org.uk

7

EVENTSInterview Skills for Core Surgical Training 8 October, Edinburgh For more information click here.

Informed Consent: Sharing the Decision (ICONS) 10 October 2018 For more information, click here.

6th ESPEN Symposium: Perioperative Nutrition 14-15 October, University of Nottingham

Emergency Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery for the General Surgeon 25 & 26 October 2018, Dundee For more information click here.

The Perioperative Practitioner: Working within One's Scope of Practice 3 November, Birmingham For more infomation click here.

BASO Annual Meeting 4-5 November 2018, Glasgow For more information, click here

British Hernia Society Meeting 2018 5-6 November, The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh For more information, click here.

Core Skills in Urology Modules 3 & 4 26-27 November, Edinburgh For more information, click here.

Frontiers in Intestinal and Colorectal Disease 27-30 November, St Mark's Hospital, Harrow For more information, click here.

The Vascular Societies' Annual Scientific Meeting 28-30 November, Glasgow For more information, click here

National Research Collaborative Meeting 2018 7th December, Manchester For more information, click here

Alpine Liver and Pancreatic Surgery Meeting 6- 10 February 2019, Madonna di Campiglio, Italy For more information, click here

Glasgow Emergency Surgery and Trauma Symposium 21- 22 February 2019, Glasgow For more information click here.

ASGBI CORPORATE PATRONS

EMERGENCY LAPAROTOMY MEETING 20TH NOVEMBER, BIRMINGHAM

REGISTER NOWVISIT THE WEB SITE FOR MORE DETAILS

http://asgbi.org.uk/emergency-laparotomy-meeting

Gordon Carlson is Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Professor of Surgery at the University of Manchester, and of Biomedical Science at the University of Salford. He qualified from Manchester University in 1985 and, after training in Newcastle upon Tyne, returned to Manchester as an MRC Training (and later Senior Clinical) fellow. He is surgical lead at the National Intestinal Failure Centre and has been advisor in Surgery to NICE and NHS England. He has been involved in professional standards and guideline development for ASGBI and ACPGBI since 2012 and is on the NHS resolution medicolegal expert panel. He is currently chair of the ASGBI Medicolegal Committee.

Medicolegal Challenges in Modern Surgical PracticeGuest Editor Professor Gordon Carlson

John Mead

John Mead is Technical Claims Director, NHS Resolution. He was educated at London University and then entered the insurance industry, where he spent over twenty years dealing with a wide variety of claims against local authorities, some of them reaching the Court of Appeal or House of Lords and creating new law in the process. He joined the NHS Litigation Authority in 1999 and is currently Technical Claims Director, overseeing large and complex claims against the NHS. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, an accredited mediator and contributes regularly to the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management.

Jou

rna

l of

th

e A

ssoc

iati

on o

f S

urg

eon

s of

Gre

at

Bri

tain

an

d I

rela

nd

, Nu

mbe

r 5

2, S

um

mer

20

18

GU

EST

EDIT

OR

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

THE JASGBI EDITOR, PROFESSOR VASSILIOS PAPALOIS, RECOMMENDS

The Guest Editor of the Summer 2018 Issue of the e-Journal of the ASGBI was Professor Gordon Carlson, Chair of the ASGBI Medicolegal Committee and one of the leading surgical medicolegal experts in the UK.

The overarching theme of the truly excellent articles edited by Professor Carlson was “MedicolegalChallenges in Modern Surgical Practice”. Enjoy reading one of them in this issue of the e-zine and the rest through this link.

NHS Resolution

This name may still be unfamiliar to some, as it has been in use only since 1 April 2017. The organisation started life as NHS Litigation Authority in 1995 when it was created by the government to administer clinical negligence claims against the newly-formed NHS trusts in England. It was soon asked to take on additional work, such as administer older claims made against Health Authorities.

NHS Resolution now manages a number of risk pooling schemes on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The best known of these is CNST (Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts), which covers liabilities arising on or after 1 April 1995. Membership of the schemes is not compulsory for NHS bodies but in fact all trusts in England are currently signed up to both CNST and the parallel scheme covering non-clinical claims, such as accidents to employees. NHS Resolution is constitutionally part of the NHS – technically a Special Health Authority, and is NOT an insurer. Funding for NHS Resolution mostly comes from member bodies, which now include private providers of NHS healthcare. Other funds are supplied by the Department of Health and Social Care in respect of schemes covering historic liabilities. The old title, NHS Litigation Authority, never comprehensively described NHS Resolution’s activities, because most claims are, in fact settled without litigation. Other areas of work were not referenced at all, including: claims management, practitioner performance advice and primary care appeals, which entail working towards resolution of problems, so the new title more appropriately covers the scope of work currently undertaken.

NHS Resolution aims not just to do this but also, critically, to feedback learning from claims and disputes to the NHS to assist in reducing the likelihood of similar mistakes happening again. We do this by running seminars for trusts, giving

advice and guidance, producing scorecards for each of our members, highlighting areas of concern, and commissioning research – most recently on five years of cerebral palsy claims, a study which has been widely acclaimed1. Realistically, human errors will never be eliminated entirely but if even one serious surgical error is avoided through this feedback process, a patient and their family will not suffer the consequences and the NHS will not have to pay a large sum in compensation and instead be able to spend the money on frontline care.

Some Statistics

In the financial year 2016/17, 10,686 new clinical negligence claims were reported to NHS Resolution, an average of 890 per month. These range from the relatively minor (e.g. additional pain and suffering for a week) to the catastrophic (such as serious brain damage requiring lifelong care).

That number of claims may appear substantial, but it is actually quite small when compared with the number of complaints recorded against secondary care providers in the same period – 117,836 (source – NHS Digital). It is dwarfed by the figure 1,925,295 incidents reported to the NRLS in England that year.

Contrary to popular myth, clinical negligence claims against the NHS in England have been falling, albeit gradually, since a peak of 11,945 in 2013/14 (figure 1).

Medicolegal Claims for Surgical Care in the NHS – The Current LandscapeJohn Mead BA FCII – Technical Claims Director, NHS Resolution

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

Jou

rna

l of

th

e A

ssoc

iati

on o

f S

urg

eon

s of

Gre

at

Bri

tain

an

d I

rela

nd

, Nu

mbe

r 5

2, S

um

mer

20

18

GU

EST

EDIT

OR

This peak may not represent an increase in alleged clinical neligence as such, and is probably a consequence of reforms to the way in which claimant lawyers can recover their costs in successful cases, introduced (but not retrospectively) on 1 April 2013. Previously, it was possible for solicitors to seek a “success fee” of up to 100% from the defendant, on top of their basic fee. Since the reforms were implemented, no uplift can be recovered from

the defendant but a solicitor has the option to seek an uplift of up to 25% from his or her client, subject to a number of restrictions. Damages for pain and suffering were increased by the Court of Appeal at the same time, to provide claimants with money out of which to pay their solicitors’ success fee. The amount of “surgical” claims activity varies widely, according to subspeciality (figure 2).

Figure 1. New clinical and non-clinical claims reported by financial year, from 2010/11 to 2016/17

Figure 2 Clinical negligence claims (by number) received in 2016/17 by specialty across all clinical negligence schemes

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

Jou

rna

l of

th

e A

ssoc

iati

on o

f S

urg

eon

s of

Gre

at

Bri

tain

an

d I

rela

nd

, Nu

mbe

r 5

2, S

um

mer

20

18

GU

EST

EDIT

OR

Orthopaedic surgery was the speciality contributing the largest number of clinical claims in 2016/17, comprising 13% overall. The next largest, purely surgical speciality was general surgery at 8%. “Other” includes a range of surgical and medical specialties such as ENT, each having 2% or less of the total. If obstetrics and gynaecology are regarded as one combined block, however, this produced the biggest tranche of claims activity, at 15% of the total. It should be stressed that all figures in this article relate to claims activity in England only.When the value, as opposed to the volume of claims activity is considered, however, the statistics appear very different (figure 3). The most expensive claims for NHS Resolution are overwhelmingly those arising from obstetrics. This is sadly because negligent obstetric and perinatal

care results in cerebral injury and subsequent cerebral palsy. Advances in immedate neonatal care have led to the survival of these injured children, many or most of whom will now be expected to attain a life expectancy of 60 years or more. They will often need 24 hour care throughout their lives and that is recoverable at private rates. Such cases regularly settle for between £10m and £20m each, and sometimes even more. They are however concluded by means of periodical payments rather than a single lump sum, entailing annual index-linked awards to cover care and case management throughout life. This method of resolution is comforting for the parents because they know that their child will continue to receive financial support even after they have died or are otherwise unable to provide care themselves.

Figure 3. Value of clinical negligence claims received in 2016/17 by specialty across all clinical negli-gence schemes

By comparison, surgery claims are relatively inexpensive. Orthopaedics accounts for just 5% of NHS Resolution’s annual outgoings, despite having 13% of claims by number. Neurosurgery and General Surgery claims each amount to 3% of the total outlay. However, the average size of the former is much greater, owing to the fact that errors in neurosurgery more frequently result in devastating consequences for the patient (notably paraplegia), again requiring lifelong care. Table 1

shows comparisons between NHS Resolution’s payments on claims against different specialties for the last six financial years. It includes numbers of claims received during each of those years and payments, per specialty. However it is important to note that the figures for claims received and damages paid do not completely coincide. Taking general surgery as an example, the payments of £191m do not all relate to the 6,401 claims received during the six year period in question,

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

Jou

rna

l of

th

e A

ssoc

iati

on o

f S

urg

eon

s of

Gre

at

Bri

tain

an

d I

rela

nd

, Nu

mbe

r 5

2, S

um

mer

20

18

GU

EST

EDIT

OR

owing to the time-lag between receipt of a claim and settlement, caused by the need to investigate each case thoroughly. Consequently, some of the £191m payments will have been in respect of claims received prior to 1 April 2012.

Table 1. Surgery claims 2012/13 – 2017/18

The outstanding (“o/s”) rows represent cases still on NHS Resolution’s books as at 31 March 2018. The huge total of over £13 billion against obstetrics covers all cases settled on a periodical payments basis (mentioned above), because those claims remain open for ongoing payments, although they are technically settled because terms have been agreed and, usually, approved by a Court. Dividing damages paid by numbers of claims received, general surgery produces an average figure of £29,839 against £101,977 for neurosurgery. The average for orthopaedic surgery is £34,362. However, these figures need to be viewed with caution because approximately 50% of all claims are successfully defended, so the averages should be roughly doubled to produce more accurate figures for typical payments. Nevertheless, the contrast in relative payment size between the different surgical specialities is valid, i.e. the average damages figure for a general surgery claim is roughly 30% of that for a neurosurgery case. The difference between damages paid and total

paid is accounted for by legal costs. Claimants’ costs are frequently much higher than those of the defence. In 2016/17, for example, NHS Resolution paid almost £500m in respect of the former and £125m for the latter, a striking contrast. We do not instruct defence solicitors in every case and try to keep legal costs as low as possible, but the fact that claimant costs were four times those of the NHS is a striking statistic and illustrates clearly the fact that there is a need for action to reduce the recoverability of costs against defendants generally. This is being addressed by the government, to the extent that fixed recoverable costs will be brought in for clinical negligence cases valued at up to £25,000 although it is not currently known when that will happen.Summary and ConclusionsOver 10,000 new clinical negligence claims per annum represents a considerable workload for NHS Resolution, but we have over twenty years’ experience in managing these cases. Surgical cases account for a significant proportion of the total, with general surgery contributing 8% overall.

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

Jou

rna

l of

th

e A

ssoc

iati

on o

f S

urg

eon

s of

Gre

at

Bri

tain

an

d I

rela

nd

, Nu

mbe

r 5

2, S

um

mer

20

18

GU

EST

EDIT

OR

Fewer than 1% of claims proceed to a contested court hearing. Just two general surgery claims were adjudicated on by a judge in 2017/18, the decision in each being in favour of the trust. All other cases are resolved out of court with either a payment of damages or a successful declinature.

The number of claims is gradually declining, although the annual cost to the NHS increases inexorably each year. This makes our work on feeding back learning to the NHS even more important. The human cost of claims should never be underestimated. Every case involves a patient who has suffered injury or an unexpectedly bad outcome. Frequently the patient’s family is adversely affected too. Sometimes the clinician will feel a sense of guilt and we know of cases where the practitioner has actually left the profession entirely as a consequence of causing harm. Learning from mistakes is critically important and NHS Resolution is actively engaged in assisting their clinical colleagues to achieve that.

References

1.https://resolution.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Five-years-of-cerebral-palsy-claims_A-thematic-review-of-NHS-Resolution-data.pdf

Medical Professional Indemnity for Surgeons

SIS (Surgical Indemnity Scheme) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ASGBI. Professional Medical Indemnity Insurance and membership of the SIS Scheme is arranged by the MPI Group.

Would you like to know more? Here’s a view from Professor Gordon Carlson, Clinical Board member of SIS: “General Surgeons sit on the board of directors and play a key role in determining the direction and policy of the scheme. The SIS scheme provides excellent coverage making it extremely good value for money and providing a level of contractual (as opposed to discretionary) cover which is of considerable reassurance during these potentially troubled times. I would encourage all consultant surgeons and senior trainees to look at this scheme, run in partnership with the ASGBI. As the membership of the scheme grows, our ability to add value for our members, including education and training in medicolegal matters relevant to your current practice will also grow. I hope you will look hard at what SIS can offer you and join us.”

The Medico-legal Director of the MPI Group, Juliette Mellman-Jones, was delighted to be co-chairing the 2018 ASGBI conference medico-legal symposium with Professor Gordon Carlson. You can read Juliette’s summary of the symposium in this edition of the e- journal.

Not a member yet? Please contact us on T: 0300 3033 531 E: info@mpi.group Email: info@ surgicalindemnityscheme.co.uk

SIS is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Stackhouse Poland Limited. The Surgical Indemnity Scheme Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of

Surgeons of Great Britain and Irelandwhose registered address is 35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE. Company number 7596523.

MPI Group is a trading name of Stackhouse Poland Limited, an Independent Insurance Intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Stackhouse Poland

Limited is registered in England. Company Number 01163431

OM

N

ES AB OMNIBUS DISCAMU

S

ASGBIAssociation of Surgeons of

Great Britain and Ireland

Jou

rna

l of

th

e A

ssoc

iati

on o

f S

urg

eon

s of

Gre

at

Bri

tain

an

d I

rela

nd

, Nu

mbe

r 5

2, S

um

mer

20

18

GU

EST

EDIT

OR