Our history, our values

MPS was founded in 1892. It is a membership organisation of healthcare professionals, providing comprehensive professional indemnity and expert advice and assistance to more than 290,000 members in over 40 countries around the world.

As a mutual, not-for-profit professional organisation, MPS is owned by – and accountable to – you, its members.
Our purpose is to protect and promote your professional interests, often in a changing environment.
We are committed to supporting you throughout your career, and strive to help you wherever possible.
We offer risk management tools to reduce your exposure to risk, and so improve your patients’ safety and satisfaction.
We believe that patients who have experienced an adverse event are entitled to, and should receive, a full and open explanation.

Apologies and explanations

In our experience, complaints arise because patients are unhappy and this is often due to poor communication. Once the facts have been established, we advocate a policy of full and open communication. An open and honest explanation, and apology where appropriate, may be what is needed to reassure a patient and avoid any escalation.

A wall of silence after an adverse incident can compound mistrust, and provoke formal complaints and legal action. If it is clear that something has gone wrong, an apology is called for, and it should be forthcoming. Contrary to popular belief, apologies tend to prevent formal complaints rather than the reverse. We can advise you on how to handle such a situation.

Our principles and purpose are encapsulated in the core values of security, quality and fairness, and in our commitment to being at the heart of the profession.

Security

Fear of litigation is a significant source of anxiety for doctors, so choosing a reliable protection organisation that you can trust will be important to safeguard your peace of mind. MPS is a not-for-profit mutual society – putting your needs first underpins all we do.

MPS has been assisting members of the medical profession for 120 years and, during that time, has earned a reputation as a dependable partner for doctors facing medicolegal challenges..

At the end of 2014, MPS had £2.2 billion in total assets to enable us to meet the cost of claims and complaints brought against members.

Quality

We pride ourselves on our commitment to giving you the highest quality service. Our whole ethos is focused on putting your needs first and doing our best to help you in whatever way we can.

The level of service we provide rests on the quality of our staff. MPS staff take pride in providing the best service they can. We provide the training they need and they bring the enthusiasm, skill and dedication to excel at their jobs.
We are committed to delivering a world class service in all that we do.
We strive to offer you a personalised service tailored to your needs.

Fairness

Fairness is at the centre of all our actions and decisions. We aim to behave ethically and fairly in all we do, both with members and external suppliers. We are transparent and open in how we conduct business.

MPS holds a large fund of money for the benefit of members. This is a responsibility we take very seriously as it is crucial that the money is managed wisely so that sufficient funds are available for assisting members when the need arises. This means exercising good stewardship to secure the ongoing financial health of MPS and to ensure that the benefits of membership are allocated fairly in accordance with our objectives.

Transparency is a key aspect of our accountability. We publish clear information about our financial position and the remuneration of the Chief Executive and non-executives each year in our Annual Report and Accounts.

Heart of the profession

Right from the beginning, MPS has played a key role in protecting the integrity of the medical profession and our members; this continues to be a core function. We seek to actively engage with senior government and regulatory representatives. We use our experience, expertise and international perspective to bring influence where it is needed to improve safety and reshape proposals that could otherwise be detrimental to the interests and needs of members.

We also commit significant resources to providing risk management and educational programmes for healthcare professionals. As a member organisation, we want to use our experiences to improve the quality of healthcare and understanding about patient safety.