Australia's surgeons and doctors have cautiously returned to work as the fallout from the collapse of the nation's largest medical defence organisation continued to unsettle both the profession and patients.

Operations were postponed as some doctors suspended services for private patients after United Medical Protection, which covers 90% of practitioners in New South Wales, called in a provisional liquidator.

Public hospitals face increased workloads as surgeons and GPs start transferring private patients to public beds to avoid being liable for malpractice claims, even after the federal government tried to assure them they were safe. …