This article features in the latest BMJ. It has been made open access and is copied in full below.
I campaigned for Scotland to introduce Sunshine legislation. I did so through the Scottish Parliament’s Petition Committee. The process lasted a number of years and much evidence was gathered. This included a consultation to establish if the Scottish public supported the introduction of such legislation. The majority of those consulted agreed that such legislation should be introduced. At this stage the petition process came to an end. It took over 2 years for the Scottish Government to confirm that it had decided not to introduce Sunshine legislation.
Four years ago the Cumberlege Review: First Do No Harm was published. It recommended that the UK introduce mandatory full transparency regarding payments from industry to clinicians, research institutions and hospitals.
You might understand, given this background, the frustration that I feel regarding the failure of the medical profession to take meaningful action. We need to remember that patient safety is at stake. I have been prompted to look at the position of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges [the membership body for the UK and Ireland’s 24 medical royal colleges and faculties] and as far as I can find the only reference to the Cumberlege Review is an acknowledgement of its publication and this promise: “The Academy Council will give the report full consideration when it meets on July 22nd 2020. We will work with colleges and other stakeholders to ensure that agreed recommendations are implemented as quickly and effectively as possible”. Four years down the line, we have heard virtually nothing regarding any progress made. Patients should be asking just how seriously medical leaders in the UK are taking the issue of patient safety.
