The MDDUS was established in May 1902 by a group of doctors and dentists concerned by an increasing number of clinical negligence cases being pursued in the courts, in which doctors faced crippling legal defence costs and damages. As a non-profit mutual membership organisation, the first meeting was held in Glasgow, attended by nine doctors and one dentist. The subscription was set at 10/- and membership stood at 26. By the time of the first Annual General Meeting held in December 1903 membership had grown to 539 and the revenue account showed an income of £231 18s 3d. The first annual report provides details of 21 cases, of which most required only advice. MDDUS membership was initially restricted to Scottish doctors and dentists but in 1919 the Union agreed that Scottish members moving to England should be allowed to remain in the Union. It was also agreed that applicants from England could also be accepted as members. By the year 1935 membership had grown to 2,918 and four years later, when war broke out, MDDUS was the only one of the three medical defence unions to suspend subscriptions for members of the armed forces. In 1967, it was decided to open a separate MDDUS office with a small administrative staff of six headed up by Medical Secretary Dr James Patterson. Today its active membership stands at over 50,000. It operate from offices in Glasgow and London with a staff of over 200 professionals, including medical and dental advisers, solicitors and paralegals, a dedicated membership team, and marketing and support staff. In 2018, its group assets exceeded £554 million and its annual income exceeded £133 million. MDDUS remains a mutual organisation, confident in the belief that this best serves the interests of its members in these increasingly litigious and financially challenging times.
Medical & Dental Indemnity
At MDDUS, doctors and dentists banded together to form a mutual organisation where shared funds are used to compensate patients who have suffered harm as a result of clinical treatment from its members. The mutual fund is also used to advise and support clinicians whose practice is subject to scrutiny from their regulator or patient complaints/claims. MDDUS has no shareholders to pay and all subscriptions are invested back into the mutual fund to help its members. It doesn't put unnecessary constraints on its members providing care and uses discretion to help its members. The benefit of being able to use discretion is that it is not restricted to lists of treatment it can cover and is not forced to comply with inflexible terms and conditions such as those found in insurance policies. If a member finds themselves called before the General Medical Council or General Dental Council, MDDUS does not put a cap on the fees spent to defend a member's position. Its job is to protect and defend the member's position regardless of cost. The organisation employs and retains some of the UK's leading medico and dento-legal solicitors. As a hospital doctor you will be indemnified by NHS indemnity for work undertaken within your NHS contract. If, however, you are involved in a disciplinary issue, a GMC referral, a fatal accident inquiry or a coroner's inquest you would not receive any assistance unless you have secured membership with a medical defence organisation.
