Current Claims In Healthcare Practices (And How to Avoid Them)
Have the insurance risks to your practice changed since Covid?
The start of a new year is the ideal time to reflect on the previous months activities and looking at what lessons can be learned. So here is our review of recent claims and issues we have seen, with some suggestions as to how you can try and avoid the same problems in the future.
In the challenging years that we have experienced, with disruptions to supply chain and changing service delivery protocols, it is perhaps predictable that there are ongoing implications around insurance and claims specifically linked to the impact of the pandemic. We will look at these in a moment.
Locum insurance claims increasing
The NHS Staff Survey 1 in 2020 showed that work-related stress increased by 10% to more than four in 10 staff suffering from burnout and almost half of NHS staff in England (44%) reported feeling unwell from work related stress, the highest rate recorded in the past five years. On our Locum Insurance scheme, we have seen a corresponding rise in stress related claims where insured members are unable to work due to either work-related, or personal stresses. Three times the number of Locum Insurance claims during 2020 as seen in 20192.
Employers’ Liability claims rising
Our new way of working has resulted in an increased number of employment liability related claims as businesses face new risks in the workplace. Insurers overall have certainly seen an increase in Employers’ Liability (EL) and Public Liability (PL) claims.
The pandemic has created HR challenges for employers that they have never faced before. Employers have the same health and safety responsibilities for employees working from home as they do for employees working from the office. You may have been forced to go through redundancy processes completely remotely.
Post-pandemic insurers have seen a lot of claims recently regarding discrimination for being asked to wear a mask3. Naturally, all kinds of healthcare premises have taken the stance that they would prefer patients or clients to wear masks when attending an appointment, despite the relaxation of the government’s enforcement, and as such, ask everyone to wear a mask unless proven to be exempt. We have seen a rise in complaints and the threat of a claim for breach of the Equality Act. In the majority of cases, no claim is likely to be successful unless in exceptional circumstances.
Ensure you understand the terms in your insurance policy, especially any exclusions. What would a claimant need to prove to be successful? Basically, it is prudent to ensure that you comply with legislation, regulations and guidance given by authorities and often, your professional association can offer support and advice in greyer areas.
We found a helpful article from Womble, Bond, Dickson4 which contains information on how to manage your positioning, your rights and how to manage confrontation to ease the risk of a complaint. If you do receive notice of a claim, notify your insurer immediately. Check that you have adequate Management Liability and Directors and Officers (D&O) Cover as we have also seen a rise in claims brought against individual directors or owners of Practices.
We recommend asking your staff whether they feel anything additional could be done to ensure they feel safe at work, especially with new ways of working. As their employer, it is your duty to ensure their wellbeing in the workplace.
Loss of stock
We have seen a 67.5% increase2 in 2020 on the previous year. It seems there were far more fridge related issues during 2020 with surges and failures across both GP and Vet practices, both of which were still operating during the pandemic. One could theorise that this may be down to practice having a surplus of stock that wasn’t being used (such as travel vaccines etc.), as well as having to accommodate Covid vaccines.
So, with so many more vaccines to store compared to the usual, practices may have overloaded the sensitive medical grade fridges and caused a failure. This theory does have some merit, as if you block the airflow to a fridge by over filling it, it can affect the consistent temperature required to keep stock as the required temp and either spoil the stock or cause a breakdown. Hence, we advise practices to invest in additional fridges to cope with the increasing level of vaccines required, and to ensure you do not over fill existing units5.
Escape of water
2020 saw a 32% increase2 in claims through Lloyd & Whyte from the previous year. Largely due to practices not being present to notice the damage occurring. The pressures that healthcare practices have faced since the pandemic began has naturally diverted attention away from routine risk management that would have otherwise been conducted.
This highlights the importance of shutting off or isolating running water outside of working hours (where possible), and if not already possible, consider installing a ‘Water Shut Off Device’ to minimise the risk of a costly and disruptive claim. This is particularly relevant for dental practices. See our article here.
Click here for more information on how to winterproof your commercial property
References
