According to a recent survey, medical indemnity fees rose for 93 per cent of GPs in the last year and more than a quarter of those polled had to fork out more than 20 per cent more than they did the year before.

The survey, carried out by GP Online, found that the rise in indemnity costs has accelerated and that the profession is paying tens of millions of pounds more than it was 12 months ago.

More than 50 per cent of full-time GPs said they are paying over £7,500 a year to maintain legal cover, while 15 per cent pay over £10,000. Only 7 per cent said that their indemnity fees had decreased.

It appears that costs are rising due to the spiralling cost of claims; the Medical Defence Union (MDU) said that claims’ inflation is rising ‘at a steady rate of 10 per cent a year, outstripping other forms of inflation’.

A spokesman for the organisation warned that the largest GP settlement could be almost £18m by 2020 and said that the claims inflation is largely because of the economic and legal environment and outside the control of GPs.

GPs are understandably furious at the ‘ridiculous amount of money’ they are paying for indemnity and have called on the General Practitioners’ Committee (GPC) to explore the possibility of crown indemnity cover for general practice.

NHS England is also very exercised by the issue and a spokeswoman said that the rising cost of indemnity cover is stifling innovation in primary care delivery. She added that NHS England is determined to resolve the problem through working with its partners to further support GPs.