Legal Services for Doctors
Doctors Defence Service (DDS) provides a number of legal services to medical doctors, including:
Independent expert legal representation and legal advice at all stages of the GMC fitness to practise process: Interim Orders Hearings, Rule 7 Submissions, FTP / MPTS hearings, and Appeals. Advice and assistance to doctors who wish to register with the GMC. Advice to doctors on general law and medical law affecting doctors’ daily working lives in the clinical sphere, including issues concerning consent to treatment, withdrawal of treatment and end of life decisions, criminal law and civil law matters, and pratical guidance for doctors on dealing with complaints from patients – at hospital level. Advice to doctors about contract law, commercial law and employment law advice. Representation in a variety of specialist courts and legal forums. Doctors Defence Service (DDS) lawyers also draft legal documents.
The areas of law DDS covers includes but is not limited to the following practice areas:
- Overview of DDS Legal Defence Services
in GMC Law - GMC Fitness to Practise FTP Legal Defence
Services - GMC Registration Applications and Appeals
- GMC Interim Orders Tribunal IOT Hearings
- Restoration to the GMC Register
- Appeals & JRs from GMC Decisions
- GMC Warnings
- GMC Performance Assessment Law
- Voluntary Erasure
- Inquests Law
- GMC Law on Drug and Alcohol Use
- GP Contracting and Commissioning Disputes
- GP PCT Performance List Appeals
- PPA (inc. NCAS) Law and Procedures
- Police Station Representation
- Employment Law
- Libel, Slander, Defamation, Reputation Management
- Contracts – Corporate and Practice
- Medico-Legal Advice
- Clinical Negligence
- CCQ Registration and Cancellation
- Trusts Law Advice for Doctors
- Civil Law Advice for Doctors
- Criminal Proceedings Advice and Representation
- Health and Safety Law
- Pensions Appeals
- Debt Recovery – Overpaid Salaries, Unpaid Fees
- Judicial Reviews of Public Body Decisions
- NHS Alert Letters / Alert Notices Law
- GP Practice Partnership Law
- NHS Counter-Fraud Investigations
- Other Legal Advice for Doctors
DDS’s lawyers can often offer valuable advice and sometimes find alternative remedies that are cost effective and avoid long protracted litigation. To discuss possible alternatives to litigation or to explore how DDS might assist you in your case or with a non-contentious project, call us on: 0800 10 88 739
Client Care Letters and Fees
Before any work is undertaken by the lawyers at Doctors Defence Service a client care letter will be sent to prospective clients. The client care letter will set out the DDS lawyer’s hourly rates or fixed fees for a particular stage of legal work, as well as their terms of business.
It is not always possible to give a clear indication of the likely global figure, but the lawyer will make it clear before undertaking work the likely cost that a particular piece of work will cost and the hours needed to undertake the work. ID checks need to be carried out in most cases before any legal work can be carried out. A passport or driving licence and utility bill will usually suffice. Some work will necessitate monies being paid on account prior to it being undertaken. Fees can be settled by cheque, BACS or IBAN transfer. We do not charge fees at any time to merely discuss likely fees for our professional legal services, so call us at any time to discuss projected fees. For more information, see our page: How much do DDS services cost?
For instructions from solicitors, the Bar’s Standard Terms apply.
DDS lawyers are regulated by the legal regulator: the Bar Standards Board. DDS lawyers undertake training and annual CPD to ensure that their skills and knowledge base is up to date in their areas of practice.
To discuss how DDS’s lawyers might assist you in a case, whether it be legal advice, legal drafting, written submissions, or representation before a court or tribunal, that you are seeking, call Doctors Defence Service on: 0800 10 88 739
DDS’s Specialist Lawyers Portfolio