Members in England or Wales

As most clinical negligence liability is now covered by the state-backed scheme, we no longer provide complimentary indemnity-only membership in England and Wales.

However nurses should consider Medical Protection membership alongside their state indemnity if they need protection for legal, disciplinary and regulatory matters or access to indemnity for any non-NHS work they undertake.

This particularly applies to nurses who independently treat, diagnose or prescribe to patients, ie nurse practitioners and advanced nurse practitioners. We would be unlikely to assist with claims relating to the actions or omissions of these nurses unless they have individual membership which includes Claims Protection.

Members in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

As part of your Practice Xtra group membership we provide complimentary indemnity-only membership for practice nurses and nurse practitioners employed in your practice. This will entitle nurses to request assistance from Medical Protection with any claims for clinical negligence that might be made against them.

We have three levels of membership for nurses depending on the tasks they undertake.

• Level 4 basic nursing duties
• Level 5 nurses undertaking any repeat prescribing, triage or management of patients with chronic conditions
• Level 6 nurses undertaking clinical assessment or management of patients with acute or undiagnosed conditions beyond initial triage

The number of free memberships we provide is based on the number of GPs in your practice who are Medical Protection members and the combined number of sessions they deliver. Practices are entitled to two free nurse memberships (level 4 or 5) for every GP who is a Medical Protection member. This can include a maximum of one level 5 nurse for each full time GP or equivalent (FTE = nine sessions). It excludes level 6 nurses.

Please note that the benefits of a complimentary indemnity-only nurse membership do not extend to workplace representation or support with NMC proceedings. Organisations such as the RCN may offer their members support in these circumstances.

Alternatively, nurses included in your practice scheme have the option of upgrading to full Medical Protection associate membership. For more information and a quotation please contact Member Services on 0800 952 0441.

We are unable to offer complimentary indemnity only membership to nurses in your practice working at level 6 due to the additional risk their work involves. They can still pay for individual Medical Protection membership which includes a reduced rate for part-time work.

All partners in a GP practice, including nurse partners and practice manager partners, should add Claims Protection to their membership if private or fee-paying services are provided by the practice. This is because a clinical negligence claim could be made against the partnership relating to work your team undertakes. You can determine the level of Claims Protection you need by reviewing your previous year’s practice accounts and estimating your share of annual income from fee paying services (whether you undertook the activities or not). 

When determining the level of Claims Protection you need, you should also include income from any work you personally undertake which is outside the scope of state indemnity, including private work and provision of services outside an NHS contract (unless they are classed as an ancillary service within the scope of state indemnity). If you have any doubts about whether an activity is covered by state indemnity or not, please check with NHS Resolution in England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership in Wales.