In dealing with complaints we help members with their draft responses, ensuring they contain appropriate levels of clinical information, clear explanations, apologies (where appropriate) and reassurances of steps taken to prevent recurrence.

Advice often includes the need to coordinate the response across providers. Our aim is to get the complaint resolved at an early stage and prevent escalation, and a responsive approach to complaints and adverse incidents means that very few cases later develop into claims. Furthermore, if the GMC later comes knocking, we are already well placed to respond on behalf of members, having already apologised, reflected and remediated as appropriate. In fact, in almost 90% of the cases that we defended in the last five years, the GMC made no adverse finding at all.

In the case study above the coroner was also involved. We assist hundreds of GPs each year faced with a coroner investigating the death of a patient and can offer support to members all the way through the process, from helping draft reports for the coroner to providing legal representation at a hearing.

Again, the pro-active approach outlined above means that criticism of our members is ultimately uncommon and very few of our cases see the coroner issuing prevention of future death reports. Even more uncommon, but a matter we are always alive to, is the possibility of a police investigation for gross negligence manslaughter. Our advice in this situation is to speak to your MDU adviser - and quickly. We are the only MDO with an in-house team of specialist solicitors specifically dedicated to defending allegations of medical crime.

As highlighted above, few of our advisory cases progress to a claim, but when they do, we allocate the case to our in-house specialist claims handling unit. Their expertise sees us successfully defend over 80% of cases without payment of compensation or claimant costs.

The member's thanks for our support in this case echoes so many expressions of gratitude we receive each year. We are here for you as our members to stand with you in your time of need - on your side, by your side.

State-backed indemnity: don't leave your career exposed

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State-backed indemnity: don't leave your career exposed