Solicitors’ letters regarding ‘mask discrimination’
We are aware that practices are being contacted by solicitors’ firms seeking damages for patients for “discrimination in relation to mask wearing and access to care”. The following advice may be helpful for practices in order to identify the reasonableness of such claims:
- Check the solicitor/firm is real using the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) website.
- The SRA’s “scam alerts” for the public and businesses are also helpful.
- Report the matter directly to the SRA if you think a firm or anyone regulated by the SRA has breached an SRA Principle. There are seven Principles that all people and law firms regulated by SRA must meet. This means that they must act:
- in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice
- in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons
- with independence
- with honesty
- with integrity
- in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion
- in the best interests of each client.
- There are two Codes of Conduct which outline the professional standards expected. The first Code of Conduct is for regulated solicitors, and lawyers from overseas. The second Code of Conduct is for regulated firms. This sets out requirements for those firms, the people who manage them, and other employees who work in them.
- Should you wish to report the solicitor or firm to the SRA, instructions on how to do this are here. When reporting: set out your concerns clearly, identify individuals you consider responsible, attach any evidence you have in support. Complete a report form and send to report@sra.org.uk.
- For guidance on the complaints process, call the SRA contact centre. They cannot provide advice about your issue, but can point you in the right direction.
The following resources may also be helpful:
- Misconduct notes.
- Unsolicited approaches
- Personal injury (possible parallels here)
Identifying patients living with frailty (23 Oct 2017)
Since July 2017 there has been a new contractual requirement for practices to focus on the identification and management of patients living with frailty. Practices are required to use appropriate...Remember that your practice needs a CQC registered manager (23 Oct 2017)
Remember that Section 33 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 states that it is a legal requirement for practices to have a registered manager with the CQC (Care...New GMS1 form - use now (23 Oct 2017)
All practices should have received new GMS1 forms to use from this month onwards. The new forms include supplementary questions to be completed by overseas...LMC patient engagement project wins award at RCGP conference (19 Oct 2017)
Londonwide LMCs’ Patient Engagement Project (PEP) was launched in July 2016 with a focus on supporting practices in fostering and developing Patient Participation Groups (PPGs). The experiences and views of...Working as a team helps combat workload stress (19 Oct 2017)
Alison Dalal, practice manager at the Paddington Green Health Centre, shares her top tips. As surveys show, working in general practice can be a stressful business and as the workload...Jeremy Hunt pledges ‘state-backed’ indemnity (19 Oct 2017)
Speaking at this month’s Royal College of General Practitioners conference Jeremy Hunt announced he is planning to introduce a state-backed indemnity scheme from April 2019. It will cover all GPs...NHS chief says networking may be answer to working at scale (19 Oct 2017)
NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens told the Health Select Committee earlier this month that “more networked approaches” can also be an answer to working ‘at scale’. This places the NHS...BMA issues advice on premises fees (20 Sep 2017)
As NHS Property Services emails practices with invoices and/or a letter from Mark Day, Chief Financial Officer at Community Health Partnerships the BMA has issued advice to practices. The covering...Londonwide LMCs' September 2017 newsletter (20 Sep 2017)
Future GP workforce plans for London (19 Sep 2017)
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan commissioned The King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust to undertake an independent analysis of sustainability and transformation plans (STP) in London. The full 98...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
