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:

  1. Check the solicitor/firm is real using the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) website.
  2. The SRA’s “scam alerts” for the public and businesses are also helpful.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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:

Last updated : 12 Jul 2021

 

Medical records one-off payment (19 Jul 2017)

Practices should have received a £250 payment alongside their contractual payment by the end of June 2017. If you have not received this payment or you have any queries relating...
Read more »

Violent patients – a step-by-step guide to safeguarding staff (19 Jul 2017)

After a mental health inpatient made a death threat against a GP in a London practice. Londonwide LMCs' medical director Dr Vicky Weeks shares the advice she gave the team....
Read more »

Premises update July 2017 (18 Jul 2017)

This month’s update include advice on:  London policy for accessing financial support for service charges and premises running costs How to plan a premises relocation Lease negotiations Transitional funding...
Read more »

Vacancies on BMA committees (18 Jul 2017)

There are vacancies on the following:   Armed forces committee Civil and public services committee Private practice committee Forensic and secure environments committee Committee of medical managers  ...
Read more »

Flu campaign preparation and best practice (18 Jul 2017)

Ellie Roberts, a practice manager on secondment to Londonwide LMCs, looks at why practices need to bite the bullet and get started on their flu campaign now. The flu campaign...
Read more »

Ballot on willingness to consider closing lists as industrial action (18 Jul 2017)

At May’s LMC conference the following motion by Tower Hamlets LMC was passed: That conference believes that the GP Forward View is failing to deliver the resources necessary to sustain...
Read more »

Locum and salaried GP handbooks (18 Jul 2017)

The locum GP handbook provides advice and guidance on all aspects of locum work, including on starting out as a locum, setting up as a business and establishing a contract for...
Read more »

New primary-secondary care interface guidance (18 Jul 2017)

GPC (England) has produced new guidance on the interface between primary and secondary care in collaboration with NHS England, NHS Improvement, NHS Clinical Commissioners, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal...
Read more »

CCG proposals for GPs to restrict access to OTC prescriptions (18 Jul 2017)

This page has been updated to remove advice which stated schemes proposed by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) which involve GPs assessing patients’ ability to pay for over-the-counter medicines and asking...
Read more »

What they said about the GP Essential Toolkit conference (05 Jul 2017)

Our first Essential Toolkit for GPs on Tuesday 4 July, 2017 was a huge success. See some of the top tweets from speakers and attendees below: ...
Read more »
Next Page »
« Previous Page