Edit When a Clinic Goes into Administration

<p>If the Harley Medical Centre Limited was not insured in respect of its liabilities to injured patients then those patients may have nowhere to go to recover compensation. Some will be able to sue their surgeon where the injury is due to surgical negligence. Others who cannot prove negligence, or who cannot locate their surgeon, or whose surgeon was not fully insured, may have no means of recovering compensation.</p> <p>On 17 November 2012 The Harley Medical Group (The Harley Medical Centre Limited was an associated company) tweeted; "<em>Our business continues as normal following a financial restructuring. Nothing has changed for our patients. Same care, clinics and surgeons.</em>" But the restructuring may mean a significant change for patients seeking compensation from the Harley Medical Centre Ltd unless it was fully insured in respect of its potential liabilities to injured patients and that insurance remains valid.</p> <p>The Harley Medical Group's <a title="Harley Medical Group Mission Statement" href="http://www.harleymedical.co.uk/why-choose-harley-medical/mission-statement/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">mission statement </a>includes the following: "<em>Our reputation has been built upon trust. Honesty, openness and assurance are fundamental to the relationships we build with our patients</em>".</p> <p>In that spirit  perhaps The Harley Medical Group could make a full statement on its website clarifying its insurance position and openly stating whether patients who are found entitled to compensation from the Harley Medical Centre Limited,  in respect of treatment provided at its clinics or hospitals, will receive full compensation.</p> <p>Could other providers go into administration? Of course. This case is not the first and it will not be last. So patients seeking cosmetic surgery may want to ask their provider about their insurance cover as well as seeking confirmation of their surgeon's insurance. Insurance should cover the period when the advice and treatment is given and not just the period when a claim is made. Does it cover the supply of products such as implants? Is there a limit to the cover for any one claim? Does it cover pre-operative advice? Patients may also want clarification in writing as to with whom they are entering a contract and what exactly is the provider agreeing to provide?</p> <p><strong>PIP</strong> <br />I presume that the Harley Medical Group will continue to honour their <a title="Harley Medical Group Patient Advice for PIP patients" href="http://www.harleymedical.co.uk/patient-advice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policy in relation to PIP implants</a>, but clearly that policy does not include the payment of compensation.</p> <p><strong>Credit Cards</strong> <br />If a patient pays for treatment by credit card then there is a possibility of recovery of compensation through the supplier of credit.</p> <p><strong>A Level Playing Field</strong> <br />Even the best run hospitals will, on occasion, have to meet valid claims for compensation by injured patients. The NHS will always honour its legal liabilities to injured patients, so why shouldn't private providers be required by regulation to take out insurance so that they do the same, particularly when the NHS is expected to treat private cosmetic surgery patients when things go wrong? Of course if they do not pay insurance premiums then private providers of cosmetic surgery will be able to offer lower prices to patients. But who ends up paying the price for cheaper treatment?</p>

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