The Medical Defence Union (MDU), which advises members on criminal matters which might arise from their clinical duties, warned that hospital doctors may face more investigations into their conduct when the Corporate Manslaughter Act comes into effect on 6 April 2008.
Fears over corporate manslaughter act
The new legislation is intended to make it easier for organisations, which will include hospital trusts, to be prosecuted if there has been a failure by senior management to take reasonable steps to protect employees or members of the public. However, the MDU is warning that more doctors and nurses could become involved in these investigations with all the uncertainty, disruption to their professional and personal lives and considerable stress they involve.
