By Aileen Editha. In May 2020, an opt-out framework for deceased organ donations came into force in England. This means that, unless an adult individual has opted out, her organs could be donated after her death. This is otherwise known as ‘deemed consent’. This was enacted as an effort to solve the prominent organ scarcity […]
Category: Regulation and Regulators
Is insisting on prospective consent in paediatric critical care research throwing the baby out with the bathwater?
By Rebecca Doyle. Robust, research evidence informs best practice and facilitates medical care that is both current and of the highest quality. In an effort to protect children and families who may be exposed to sources of vulnerability in the paediatric critical care environment, is the Australian National Statement jeopardising advancements to critical care research […]
NICE’s wrong turns: opportunity costs and missed opportunities
By Jonathan Michaels. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is consulting on its methods for health technology evaluation, seeking ‘public’ views on over two thousand pages of highly technical supporting material. NICE was established to promote “clinical and cost-effectiveness through guidance and audit” and address ‘postcode prescribing’ and has led the world […]
Removing the legal barriers to treating the excruciating pain of cluster headaches
By Jonathan Leighton. There is nothing worse than extreme pain and suffering. Patients experiencing unbearable pain may take their lives to escape it. The highest priority of medicine and of society in general – the issue with the most urgent call to action – is arguably to alleviate such suffering. Although the ethical framework I […]
Breaking bad news during the COVID-19 pandemic – a dilemma for paramedics, their patients and their loved ones
By Iain Campbell. The initial stages of the lockdown that happened in the UK in 2020 was a hectic time to be working on ambulances in London. Like many of our colleagues across the NHS, we were encountering a large number of very unwell patients. There was a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, […]
NICE Draft Quality Standards on FASD: A misplaced focus?
By Rachel Arkell. In early March, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) launched the consultation period for the first draft of their Quality Standards on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which covers the assessment and diagnosis of those affected by FASD. It is, of course, vital that diagnosis and support services are […]
Drug companies and academic conferences: Untangling conflicts of interest
By Saroj Jayasinghe. Globally, a range of medical conferences are sponsored by pharma. At one end of the spectrum we continue to have conferences and their social programmes that are completely funded and organized by pharma, where the only obligation for the participating health professional is to apply for legitimate leave. At the other end […]
Is Research Ethics Committee review of most clinical trials fundamentally broken?
By Mark Yarborough Imagine that you suffered from a fatal neurodegenerative disorder like Alzheimers or ALS, or that you had a serious chronic condition like hypertension or heart disease. Imagine further that you were asked to participate in a clinical trial related to your disease. Finally, imagine that the person recruiting you into the trial […]
PPE may protect us, but it harms the sweatshop workers who make it
Arianne Shahvisi and Mei Trueba. One of the greatest controversies of the UK coronavirus crisis is the shortage of PPE for NHS workers. Yet most PPE is made in sweatshops, and its production endangers the health of those who make it. Ironically, workers who produce personal protective equipment for others invariably have inadequate protection themselves. […]
Highest German court defends the constitutional right to (assisted) suicide
By Ruth Horn. On 26th April 2020, the German Constitutional Court overturned a law of 2015 prohibiting ‘any business-like assisted suicide’. This included any potentially recurring suicide assistance that might be provided, with or without commercial interests, by a doctor, nurse, relative or member of a right-to-die organisation. Although suicide and therefore also assisted suicide […]