ABSTRACT
Introduction The role of the Medical Defence Organisations (MDOs) in UK medical negligence has been a pivotal one. Very few if any profes sions can boast the fierce and wide-ranging support that these organisations have provided to doctors, and in many ways their story and evolution mirror the change in attitudes and social mores of this country from the outraged ‘never criticise a profes sional’ attitude through the paternalistic ‘doctor knows best’ phase to the current ‘if something goes wrong it must be someone’s fault’ era. The MDOs have so far weathered all storms, and in their current role as predominantly GP organisations at the approach of the new millennium, the greater threat seems to come from the challenge to the role of independent general practitioners, and indeed their very survival.
