Stop the Saatchi Bill

Driven by an extraordinary two-year PR campaign on social media and a supportive newspaper partner, this all started as Lord Saatchi’s Medical Innovation Bill, metamorphosed through several versions, and was resurrected under a new name by Chris Heaton-Harris, before finally clearing its last hurdle in the Lords this week to become the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act. Pretty much the only thing they share is the word 'Innovation' in the title.

One day, it may be possible for politicians to ask the people who actually work in the medical field: what are the problems you face, and how can we help you overcome them?

One day, politicians may actually listen to the answers they receive, and thus try to tackle genuine problems rather than imagined ones.

One day, politicians, medics, researchers, lawyers, patient groups, charities, and the public, may work together to overcome the barriers to the development and provision of new treatments.

But it is not this day.

Read more: Not this day

Monthly Archives: January 2016

End of the Road?

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Has the Saatchi Bill, which has haunted medical groups and patient safety advocates for more than two years, finally run out of steam? As you will surely recall, the Medical Innovation Bill (the “Saatchi Bill”), promoted by Lord Saatchi in the last Parliament, aimed to “promote innovation” in medicine by removing patient protections against negligent treatment. Almost universally opposed by…

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Saatchi Bill – The Writing’s on the Wall

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Re-blogged with permission from Saatchi Bill – The Writing’s on the Wall by Nigel Poole QC I very much hope that this will be my last post on the Saatchi Bill — perhaps you do also! Promises made in parliament appear to herald an end to the Bill. The state of play is as follows: Lord Saatchi re-introduced his Medical Innovation…

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