The need for the Medical Innovation Bill has been questioned by The Medical Defence Union (MDU).
The Bill aims to help doctors provide innovative treatments to patients without fear oflitigation. However, the MDU does not believe that the Bill is necessary. Dr Michael Devlin, head of professional standards and liaison, said: “The Bill is well- intentioned but it is aiming to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Innovation has always been a part of modern medicine, either as part of a research project or because conventional treatments haven’t worked for a particular patient. We indemnify about half of UK doctors and doctors are using innovative treatments all the time, but we just haven’t seen any negligence claims.
“We encourage doctors to innovate. They can do so without an increased threat of litigation, so long as they can show they acted in accordance with current legal and ethical principles governing clinical practice. This includes making surethe patient understands what they want to do and why, and agrees.
“We see no need for new legislation as the procedure for innovating is long established and straightforward. The danger with the Bill is it could lead to confusion and delay which wouldn’t be in patients’ interest."
