Four in five GPs say they are ordering needless tests and drugs for patients for fear of otherwise being sued.

It comes amid soaring numbers of successful small claims against the NHS, which have risen by more than a quarter in one year.

A survey of more than 1,300 doctors by the Medical Protection Society (MPS) found 87 per cent are increasingly fearful of litigation.

In total, 84 per cent said their worries about being sued had caused them to order needless tests or refer patients to consultants, while 41 per cent admitted to prescribing medication when it was not clinically required.

Previous research has found three quarters of GPs have handed out antibiotics for infections which were unlikely to be helped by them.

The organisation, which defends doctors accused of malpractice, is calling for changes to reduce the number of small claims being fought against the NHS.

Official figures show there were 817 claims with damages of less than £3,000 in 2016/17 - a 26 per cent rise from 646 such cases in 2015/16.

Damages for all claims went from £1.5bn to £1.7bn over the period.

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, Senior Medicolegal Adviser at MPS, called on the Government to undertake research to understand the impact of fear of litigation on doctors’ behaviour.