Medical Innovation Bill [HL]

Lord Ryder of Wensum Excerpts

Friday 12th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Saatchi]

That is an important point and many have made it. The discussion that has to be had is whether this can be achieved by regulation, as I think my noble friend the Minister believes, or by GMC guidance. It is possible that there are other ways to achieve what is in effect compulsion without putting it in the statute.

[Lord Ryder of Wensum (Con)]

Will my noble friend accept that there are precedents in other Private Members’ Bills going back several years for such registers being set up?

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for taking part in this short but interesting debate. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Saatchi, about the conference that his noble friends suggest, that it is all well and good to have a conference after a Bill has been enacted, but in my judgment that is too late in relation to his Bill. He needs to engage with the professional medical bodies before the Bill goes to the other House; otherwise, he risks enacting a Bill, if he is able to do so, that will start with a huge defect—all the main medical bodies are opposed to it. I urge him to try to reach consensus with those bodies as the Bill goes through.

On the question of registration, all noble Lords agree that for any treatment that took place under the provisions of the Bill there should be a register—for patient safety concerns, research concerns and audit concerns. The question is how to ensure that that happens. I am disappointed by the Government’s response. This was meant to be a constructive amendment, which I think meets the needs. The Minister is not in favour of compulsion. She said at one stage that she thought that, even if you enacted a provision, there is no guarantee that doctors would use it, but she said later that she wanted a position where doctors would not dream of not registering with a scheme. That seems inconsistent.

On the question of the technical scope of the Bill, the noble Lord has already pointed to other Private Members’ Bills, which is a relevant point. But my amendment relates to the circumstances under this Bill. It says:

“Page 1, line 24, at end insert—”,

so I am very clear that the circumstances of a register relate only to interventions that take place under the auspices of the noble Lord’s Bill. I am not seeking to create a wide-ranging register for other aspects of legislation; I am seeking to give statutory underpinning to a register that one hopes the General Medical Council or a similar body would undertake.

I hear that the Government will consider this again. I will bring this back at Third Reading and I will press it unless we get an absolute assurance that there will be a compulsory register. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.