As the country continues to deal with the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, NHS Resolution has been closely following government guidance and putting in place business contingency plans that ensure the safety and wellbeing of our workforce whilst also enabling us to continue to serve the NHS and other members and customers with minimal disruption.
In line with government recommendations, the majority of NHS Resolution staff are now working remotely until further notice. We are taking all necessary steps to minimise the impact of this decision on the continued provision of our services.
We recognise the enormous pressure placed on our colleagues across the NHS in dealing with the challenge of Covid-19.
New indemnity scheme to support NHS coronavirus response
A new scheme has been launched by NHS Resolution to meet liabilities arising from the special healthcare arrangements being put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The scheme, which will be known as the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Coronavirus (CNSC), has been designed to respond to the new contracts being put in place for healthcare arrangements to respond to coronavirus such as those with the Independent Sector and organisations supporting testing arrangements. Membership of this new indemnity scheme is not required and cover will be provided automatically under the relevant contracts.
The scheme has been established under the new powers delivered under the Coronavirus Act 2020 and will indemnify healthcare providers for any clinical negligence liabilities which arise where existing indemnity arrangements (such as the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts) do not apply. Where NHS Trusts are hosting special healthcare arrangements, for example the NHS Nightingale hospitals, then clinical negligence liabilities will be covered by CNST.
A copy of the letter sent to providers on 2nd April 2020 from NHS Resolution, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department of Health and Social Care can be viewed here. You can find additional details of the scheme and a series of frequently asked questions here. Any general queries concerning the arrangements should be directed by email to CNSC@resolution.nhs.uk.
This cover is in addition to the arrangements already in place to indemnify healthcare workers for the NHS work they already do, through state indemnity schemes operated by NHS Resolution on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care which will continue.
Letters of claim
Letters of claim copied to us (as required under the clinical negligence pre-action protocol) should be sent to ClaimsEnquiries@resolution.nhs.uk. Please note, we are not authorised to accept formal service of court documents.
Concerns about practitioner performance
Practitioner Performance Advice continues to support healthcare organisations to effectively manage and resolve concerns during this time. This includes providing advice to organisations and practitioners, drafting professional support and remediation action plans, and issuing and reviewing Healthcare Practitioner Alert Notices (HPANs). We will continue to consider requests for assessments, assisted mediations and team reviews but will not be delivering these interventions until further notice.
We are contactable via telephone (0207 811 2600) and email (advice@resolution.nhs.uk) but ask that until further notice no hard copy correspondence is sent to our postal address to avoid any delays in receipt. In these exceptional circumstances we are extending our normal hours from 07:30 up to 20:00 and you can access assistance out of office hours by calling 07759333571.
Appeals, Disputes and Performers Lists
With contingency arrangements in place, our Primary Care Appeals service is able to continue to process and determine appeals and disputes, the exception being any cases requiring an oral hearing which regrettably have been postponed. To facilitate our work during this period, we require correspondence to be sent to us by email (nhsr.appeals@nhs.net) or via our document transfer system. This method is of paramount importance for any notifications issued by NHS England under the Performers Lists Regulations and by the Health Boards for Northern Ireland and Wales under equivalent Regulations.
Contacting us
Office telephones have been diverted in order to assist with remote working arrangements, and we are asking that where possible correspondence is sent to us by email. If this is not possible, please contact your designated contact at NHS Resolution or email nhsr.generalenquiries@nhs.net.
In light of recent events we are no longer accepting any correspondence sent via DX. Any correspondence sent by this method from Monday 23 March 2020 should be resent by email as per above.
Meetings
In line with government recommendations, we are also encouraging all staff to only carry out essential travel and to avoid face-to-face meetings where necessary. As such, our staff will be making greater use of Skype and online meeting software to ensure continuity of service.
Events
We have also cancelled or postponed a number of our events due to take place over the next few months. Please check our event listings to check if an event you are looking to attend is still taking place.
In line with government recommendations, we will not be scheduling any events, workshops or courses until further notice. However, if you are interested in booking onto a course in the future, please email us and we will be in touch once we have new dates.
Thank you for your understanding during this challenging situation.
