So the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill now passes into law. 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…
Pass the Parcel
Has the Saatchi Bill finally been tamed? Only time (and Lord Saatchi himself) can tell. The Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill has passed through the House of Commons and had its First Reading in the House of Lords. A Bill that first appeared more than two years ago as the Medical Innovation Bill (also known as the Saatchi Bill)…
End of the Road?
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…
Saatchi Bill – The Writing’s on the Wall
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…
The Money Resolution: Part 3 – Experimental Treatment and Clinical Research
George Freeman: I want to stress that this Bill, which has a very different structure from the original Bill introduced by Lord Saatchi, has nothing to do with research at all. A great many confident claims were made about Chris Heaton-Harris’ Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill (AMTIB) at its Money Resolution debate on 3rd November, both by Heaton-Harris himself…
The Effect of the Saatchi Bill on the Common Law. Who is right?
Re-blogged with permission from The Effect of the Saatchi Bill on the Common Law. Who is right? by Nigel Poole QC Will the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill change the common law of medical negligence? It seems that the government does not believe that it would. On 29 October 2015, Dr Darren Conway, Senior Associate of Tollers Personal Injury…
The Money Resolution: Part 2 – Changing Common Law
Guest post by José Miola, Professor of Medical Law, University of Leicester. On several occasions during the Money Resolution Debate on Chris Heaton-Harris’ Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill (AMTIB), the claim was made that the clinical negligence aspects to the Bill would either not change current law or at least provide patients with equal protection. To this end, George…
The Money Resolution: Part 1 – Massively the same
The Money Resolution for Chris Heaton-Harris’s version of Lord Saatchi’s Medical Innovation Bill, the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill (AMTIB) took place on 03 November 2015. The debate can be watched here: The Hansard record of the debate can be read here, continued here. The Resolution was passed by 281 votes to 227, giving a total of 508 MPs voting,…
Follow the money
The Money Resolution for Chris Heaton-Harris’s version of Lord Saatchi’s Medical Innovation Bill will be heard and voted on in the Commons this coming Tuesday. We need a minute of your time again. Today. Now. The Money Resolution is an essential step in the progress of any Bill that includes a proposal for new or increased public expenditure. The Bill cannot be considered…
Second Reading of the AMTIB
The Second Reading of Chris Heaton-Harris’s Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill (AMTIB) in the House of Commons was on Friday 16 October 2015 and lasted over four hours. It can be watched here: (Go to Parliament TV for other viewing options.) The main speakers were: 09:48:30 Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill – 2nd reading 09:48:36 Chris Heaton-Harris MP (Daventry, Conservative) 10:14:27 Dr Sarah…
