The role of a surgeon is one that requires a lot of skill and training that is done over many years. You can’t just become a surgeon after four years of university as there is so much that needs to be learnt. Of course, even with many years of training and experience in hospitals, it is possible for surgeons to make mistakes when they are in the operating theatre.

Typically, surgeons will have indemnity insurance that covers these kinds of mistakes – but what happens if they don’t? Read on to find out more about this.

What is Indemnity Insurance?

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of an indemnity insurance policy then you should know that this is a special type of insurance that can be used by many professionals. There are some policies such as those offered by Incision Indemnity that are created specifically for medical professionals like surgeons.

This kind of policy was created to protect surgeons and cover them should a patient make a claim against them. The policy would protect their job and their reputation while also helping them to avoid a large fine or dismissal.

So, what happens if they don’t have a policy?

Loss of License

Did you know that if a surgeon doesn’t have the correct kind of medical indemnity insurance policy then they could risk losing their licence? This would be a decision that is made by the GMC that has the powers to decide if they need to penalise surgeons or not. Without a licence the surgeon cannot practice medicine and won’t be much help to their patients. A surgeons’ licence is not easy to obtain and so if you have spent a long time trying to achieve this, you will want to keep hold of it for as long as possible.

Financial Liability

If a patient were to make a claim of medical negligence then you could find that without an insurance policy in place, the surgeon would need to foot the bill. This can be very high, especially if the medical mistake has resulted in serious injury or death. Patients and their solicitors will go for as much of a payout as possible and they won’t hold back in the claims process. Most surgeons can’t afford to pay this high fine and so use their insurance policy to protect them against any kind of financial liability if something were to go wrong.

Loss of Job at Independent Hospitals

Finally, you will find that if a surgeon doesn’t have a medical indemnity insurance policy taken out in their name, they could risk losing their jobs at independent hospitals. Most hospitals will require surgeons to have a policy so that they aren’t responsible for the loss experienced when something does go wrong. So, really there is no reason why a surgeon wouldn’t want to take out a policy.

Final Verdict

As you can see, the consequences for not taking out a medical indemnity policy as a surgeon can be quite difficult to deal with. If you have spent many years training to become a surgeon and building on your career then the last thing you will want to do is to lose your job.

Make sure to find an insurance provider that offers the right kind of policy that can be tailored to the role that you play in the hospital. This way, you will reduce the risk of losing your job or having to pay a hefty fine in the event of something going wrong.