Indemnity Cover If a Mistake is Made
All doctors need to be appropriately covered to make sure there is adequate indemnity if a mistake is made (and it can happen to anyone). In NHS facilities this is carried by the trusts and will cover you, if you are working under supervision.
In general practice, and any practice outside NHS trusts, placement providers will hold Public Liability and Employers’ Liability insurance. Individual doctors will carry indemnity cover through the Defence Organisation. You are strongly recommended to join a Defence Organisation which will provide advice both in this country and overseas.
We require students to have signed up to an indemnity organisation before arranging their elective in year 4, and verification of this is part of the travel approval process.
Membership is free whilst you are a student.
Please note that you are only covered by the indemnity organisations when you are on a placement which has been officially approved by the Programme. If you travel to a placement which has not been approved, your indemnity insurance will be invalidated. Some medical schools which provide elective placements, especially in Canada, now require students to pay for their own professional indemnity insurance. You should check this with the medical school that you are visiting well before you leave for your elective placement.
Medical and Dental Defence Union Scotland
There are other providers of medical indemnity and we cannot recommend or endorse any one provider.