Four in five GPs ordering needless drugs and tests for fear of being sued, amid soaring small claims by patients
Four in five GPs say they are ordering needless tests and drugs for patients for fear of otherwise being sued.
It comes amid soaring numbers of successful small claims against the NHS, which have risen by more than a quarter in one year.
A survey of more than 1,300 doctors by the Medical Protection Society (MPS) found 87 per cent are increasingly fearful of litigation.
In total, 84 per cent said their worries about being sued had caused them to order needless tests or refer patients to consultants, while 41 per cent admitted to prescribing medication when it was not clinically required.
Previous research has found three quarters of GPs have handed out antibiotics for infections which were unlikely to be helped by them.
The organisation, which defends doctors accused of malpractice, is calling for changes to reduce the number of small claims being fought against the NHS.
Official figures show there were 817 claims with damages of less than £3,000 in 2016/17 - a 26 per cent rise from 646 such cases in 2015/16.
Damages for all claims went from £1.5bn to £1.7bn over the period.
Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, Senior Medicolegal Adviser at MPS, called on the Government to undertake research to understand the impact of fear of litigation on doctors’ behaviour.
She said: “Unnecessary tests or investigations are not in the best interests of patients and may use up limited NHS resources.
“Doctors should be able to exercise their clinical skills and judgment without the fear of claims affecting their decision-making.”
The medic said the challenging environment meant “the temptation to over prescribe or over investigate is understandable.”
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The organisation, which supports 300,000 healthcare professionals, is calling for legal reform, with a minimum threshold for financial losses caused by an injury, before a claim could be made
In the anonymous survey, one GP said: “I worry about claims which are inappropriate, patients threatening complaints if not given the tests they want, and more professionals managing cases driven by fear of litigation as opposed to what is in the best interests of the patient.”
Another said: “I now practice in a world where I am frightened at the beginning of each day, and because of this, I am retiring early.”
And a third said: “The fear of being sued leads to increased referrals, investigations and unnecessary follow up appointments which in turn drive the cost of healthcare up.”
“The stress, anxiety and sleepless nights this causes us is terrible and disproportionate - time that could be spent caring for patients and reviewing process and protocol to improve future care is spent worrying about this.
“It also leads to defensive practice, over investigating and that itself incurs more cost to the NHS.”
