Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill

Debate between Lord Patel and Lord Blencathra

Friday 26th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Patel]

We would not have had stents put in hearts, bypasses, ablations—

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

Marie Curie.

[Lord Patel]

Yes, we would not have had Marie Curie’s radiation treatment. One of my children is an oncologist, so I know what they do. The noble Lord is quite right: fortunately, such procedures do not have to go through this stringent process. Some argue that they should, but that would be a backward step.

The only minor concern the professional organisations have had is to clarify the definition of medical innovations. It is true that practitioners must clearly understand that they cannot bypass current regulations on patient safety; I have no doubt that the Minister will confirm that. The other matter, which has been mentioned and on which the noble Lord, Lord Saatchi, convinced me in his introduction, is that the database has to be transparent and shared and there must be clear stewardship of it. I hope the Minister will confirm that.

I strongly support the Bill and wish it a speedy passage.