North East doctors call for better protection from being sued
They say they can't go on being overcautious out of fear of being sued
GPs in the North East say it's time for a change of culture - so they can stop being overcautious, out of fear of being sued.
87% of GPs said they were increasingly fearful of being sued in the survey that was carried out by the Medical Protection Society.
Four in five (84%) said the fear of being sued had lead to them ordering more tests or making more referrals - 41% said it had even resulted in them prescribing medicine that wasn't necessary.
The Medical Protection Society is calling on the government to consider introducing a minimum threshold for cases.
According to figures from NHS Resolution, there were 646 NHS clinical negligence claims with damages paid out in 2015/16. This rose to 817 in 2016/17.
Dr George Rae, Chairman of the British Medical Association in the North East said:
"You only need to turn on the radio and television to see 'No Win, No Fee', encouraging people to put forward complaints - and when that happens you end up getting a culture where people are putting in complaints, and that causes inordinate problems - especially in the National Health Service."