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

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, 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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Australia,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

plus the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

). 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 law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

and

ethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...

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 was founded in 1892, with just 13 original members all practising in the home counties of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 medical legal advice and

indemnity 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 negligen ...

. 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 protect ...

; 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 * Medical legal advice - Medical legal 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 Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

- To bring about a sensible regulatory environment to provide a safer environment for patients and healthcare professionals. The MPS has offices in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and is present in several overseas locations including

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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