1)
Where can I find the Scottish list? After all, if the insurance is valid it will cover the whole UK. No?

2)
Can ebme.co.uk run a list that we can buy into? It would still be cheaper than us all doing our own list.

3)
Can we trust anything on the old now or do we assume that all existing entries are valid till their expiry date?

Whilst we are on the topic of the Master Indemnity Agreements (lists), can anyone recall any case where these have actually been invoked, or otherwise proved their worth? And if so, what was the outcome?

Graham,
I'm sure that some reps had/ have the authority to sign the forms on behalf of their company as you did for your trust.

Mark,
From what I've read, all agreements are still valid until the end of April. PASA has to give 3 months notice to terminate the agreements.

Geoff,

If you still drive, do you have insurance? If so when did you last make a claim? Same thing.

Yes, Bill, my dear friend ... I appreciate the requirement. Surely being listed on the MIA register is simply proof that a company holds an appropriate insurance policy. But I'm wondering about the claims (and, as I say, the result).

To put it bluntly:- are they worth the paper they're written on?

Or, if you like:- who is being "protected"? The Trust, the user, the hospital biomeds, the company or (dare I mention it?) the patient?

And (lastly), as I have mentioned before, does the Indemnity form make clear when the thing was last serviced (or even checked out) ... especially after being trundled around the country in the back of a van?

And (finally?) ... just out of interest, can the MIA also cover equipment servicing by an outside party, and stuff like software? I would presume so in the second case, but not so sure about the first.

Bill
I'm sure some do have the authority, but I do know those who tell tall stories as well. They have everything to gain, I have nothing to gain by signing.

Mark
you can see the Scottish List on
http://www.hfs.scot.nhs.uk/online-services/master-indemnity-agreement/
Trouble is its an agreement by each supplier and NHS Scotland and does not cover those south of Hadrians Wall.

At the end of all this the MIA is still far simpler to use than the cumbersome Standard Form of Indemnity and maybe the new Buyers website should be encouraged to start one up.

Gents (and ladies)
I was just about to ask a question when I searched and found this thread.
We (my employers) perform a lot of emergency hires and loans outside of normal office hours, quite often after the rest of us have gone to bed(I dare say some of you know us from this service). Has anybody had any guidance from above regarding MIA and would you be willing to be called into the hospital to sign the relevant forms? The service and the products we use cannot wait until normal office hours, the patient (the important bit, lets not forget) will not be with us by then. I guess the bed suppliers must have similiar queries.
Any input gratefully received.
Mark

Seeing that the NHS is renowned not only for its excellence in management, but also for the numbers of its managers per se, surely every hospital must have a Duty Manager available at all times to sign any bits of paper worth signing?

Meanwhile, for more years than I care to remember I have argued that (in-house) biomed should be a 24-hour (24x7) service wherever possible (that is, at places with more than three biomeds). I admit, however, that I have only been able to implement such a policy on one occasion (and that was at a hospital in Saudi Arabia ... although I've had more success with the "two-shift" system).

But surely Mark, service such as the one you hint at would be subject to some kind of "Standing Order"?

I was informed that NHS Supply chain will be taking on the responsibility of indemnity, though no details on their website www.supplychain.nhs.uk/capital

Interestingly the Scottish system is chargeable for participating companies whereas the English system was free.No doubt the now privately owned NHS Supply Chain system will also be chargeable.
Also when we had PASA all of our data was held by them on the SID database which enabled companies to just update this once annually with all company information such as insurances and company accounts etc,now we have to submit this seperately on every single tender we send out,how ridiculous is that?