MDU

22/12/2025

Manage your membership online at any time ☃️ https://ow.ly/soJk50Up9Ye

For urgent medico-legal support, our advice line remains open 24/7.

17/12/2025

Whether you're working a shift in a busy emergency department, managing your GP practice, or discussing a patient’s care with their next of kin, we know that medico-legal dilemmas can arise at any time.

That’s why our helpline is open whenever you need it: https://www.themdu.com/get-mdu-support

10/12/2025

Whether it’s a letter from a complainant, a solicitor, or the GMC, it’s natural to feel shock, upset, or even despair if you are called to justify your actions.

Medico-legal adviser Dr Sally Old gives some advice in GPonline:

Whether it’s a letter from a complainant, a solicitor, or the GMC, it’s natural to feel shock, upset, or even despair if you are called to justify your actions. It’s a difficult situation, but there are things you can do, as the MDU’s Dr Sally Old explains.

03/12/2025

Prescription errors are one of the most common reasons doctors seek advice from us.

Errors leading to a complaint or claim may arise, for example, if:

▪️ a busy doctor inadvertently clicks on a similar-sounding drug on the drop-down menu
▪️ a telephone message is misinterpreted
▪️ the prescription is issued by non-clinical staff
▪️ failure to monitor long-term drug administration leads to harmful side effects.

Some of the most common drug-related errors that we see include:

▪️ prescribing a drug to a patient with a known allergy - penicillins, in particular
▪️ prescribing the wrong drug due to similar names, such as mefloquine and malarone
▪️ prescribing the wrong dose of a drug, such as a twice-weekly drug being prescribed daily.

See our latest advice on avoiding these errors: https://ow.ly/Y3a650XnMwj

27/11/2025

Our NHS needs all the investment it can get, so yesterday the Chancellor missed a key opportunity to tackle out-of-control spending on clinical negligence legal fees.

Patients must be properly compensated if harm occurs, but our current system has led to legal fees ballooning to nearly four times the damages awarded for low-value claims.

Yesterday's Budget highlights that money is in short supply. We believe that simple changes could free up much-needed funds:

- Cap legal fees through implementing fixed recoverable costs.

- Repeal outdated laws that mean the NHS has to cover the cost of private treatment, even if NHS treatment is sought.

24/11/2025

Patients harmed due to clinical negligence must receive appropriate compensation, but an outdated system means that millions of pounds are being unnecessarily diverted away from the NHS.

We wrote an open letter to Rachel Reeves ahead of the Budget:

Legal fees in smaller cases are four times higher on average than claimants receive in compensation, figures reveal

21/11/2025

Yesterday Department of Health and Social Care - DHSC and NHS resolution gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry on the rising costs of clinical negligence.

Responding to the evidence session Director of Policy and Communications Tom Reynolds said:

“The MDU has been sounding the alarm bell on the cost of clinical negligence for years, particularly around rising legal costs. Today MPs repeatedly sought answers from the Government on what they plan to do about it, repeatedly being told by officials that a review into the issue by David Lock KC has concluded and its findings are now with Ministers.

"We urge the Government to make these findings public. Given the eyewatering sums of money involved in clinical negligence, the case for reform is urgent – and MPs, healthcare professionals, patients, and taxpayers as a whole deserve transparency on what is being proposed. This review and its recommendations must be published in full.”

Watch the full session here: https://ow.ly/99cT50XvCLI

12/11/2025

I think my colleague is struggling, what can I do?

“If you feel you can, tell your colleague you’re concerned about them and give them an opportunity to talk.

It’s important to encourage them to seek appropriate help, whether this is from friends, family, their own GP, or other sources of support, depending on what the root cause of the problem is."

Medico-legal adviser Dr Kathryn Leask gives some advice in The BMJ: https://ow.ly/fCVM50X4bJl

05/11/2025

"When faced with confused or incomprehensible speech, it is easy to assume that a person with dementia has lost all interactional competence. We found that this was not the case."

Prof. Rowan Harwood explains how cognitive impairments make communication more complex, and shares his insights on how to talk to patients with dementia: https://ow.ly/oGzO50WUmNH

29/10/2025

Organising a student event and need sponsorship? Your MDU liaison manager can help 🙌

Tell us about your event and request sponsorship here: https://www.themdu.com/for-students/request-sponsorship

23/10/2025

Today we're celebrating 140 years of the MDU.

In that time, we've gone from helping a small group of doctors to counting almost a quarter of a million healthcare professionals as our members.

Healthcare has changed beyond recognition since 1885, but what hasn't changed is our commitment to our members.

Through changing times, pressures, and expectations – we are by your side.