With careful thought, and backed with full supporting evidence, I sent the following letter of the 2nd February 2016 to support my petition for a Sunshine Act for Scotland.
The Senior Clerk of the Parliamentary Committee was of the view that this letter did not comply with the Scottish Parliament’s policy on the treatment of written evidence. I was therefoe asked to redact significant sections of the letter.
After considerable communications to and fro, I replied as per this e-mail of the 3rd March 2016:
I fully respect the right of the Scottish Parliament to determine what it publishes. I feel very strongly that my letter without the highlighted text merely reiterates what I have already said, and fails to provide the evidence that I have repeatedly been asked for. So my position is that I do not wish to amend my letter of the 1st February on PE1493.
My petition has since been closed. I therefore have decided to publish my letter to the Scottish Parliament in full along with supporting evidence. I have had professional advice that what is contained in this letter is not defamatory as it is based on veritas and has full supporting evidence:
Dear Mr McMahon
Petition PE01493: A Sunshine Act for Scotland
I realise that the Committee must receive a great amount of correspondence however I hope that the committee might agree that what follows is extremely important when considering PE1493.
Since I last wrote to the committee I attended, for accredited continuing medical education, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland Winter Meeting held on the 29th January 2016. It is this that has compelled me to write this update as it demonstrates beyond doubt that lack of transparency around financial conflicts of interest remains a serious issue. An issue with implications for both patient safety and healthcare budgets. It also demonstrates that Government action is the only way to address this.
The full powerpoint presentations of this Accredited meeting for Continuing Professional Development can be accessed here - but only for members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I am a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and I am of the view, as a scientist, that these lectures should be available to all and not just to members.
One speaker highlighted the increase in prescribing costs in her health board area which was due to the high prescribing rate of a new antipsychotic injection, palperidone depot (XEPLION®). The next speaker demonstrated both the inferior effectiveness of this drug when compared to existing (far cheaper) depot medications and the perception amongst Scottish psychiatrists that it was more effective. Below you will see the flyer sent to mental health professionals in Scotland when this drug was launched:
I have highlighted one of the paid speakers, Dr Mark Taylor, because he also spoke at this week’s meeting where he reminded us that he was Chair of SIGN Guideline 131: The Management of Schizophrenia, which was published in March 2013.
At t the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland Winter Meeting held on the 29th January 2016 meeting Dr Taylor presented his declarations as follows: “Fees/hospitality: Lundbeck; Janssen, Otsuka; Roche; Sunovion”.
Dr Taylor shared with the audience how he had heard Professor Rob Kerwin [1955-2007] describe paid opinion leaders as generally being “promiscuous“. In commenting on his own declarations Dr Mark Taylor said: “You are either abstinent or promiscuous when it comes to industry. Well you can see which side I am on”. Audience laughter followed [an audience of Members and Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists].
The general question that arises is whether an influential professional such as a Chair of National Guidelines might earn more from the pharmaceutical industry than in his or her role as a healthcare professional? At present it is impossible for anyone to establish the scale of competing financial interests. To remind the committee the following avenues are not illuminating:
1. Royal College of Psychiatrists. This week’s meeting did not appear on the college database. In any case this database is neither searchable nor does it include specific details of payments and dates
2. NHS Boards. The committee has already established that, across Scotland, HDL62 is not being followed.
3. SIGN guidelines. The committee is aware of significant governance failings particularly in comparison with NICE which includes details of financial sums paid and associated dates.
4. Discussions with Senior Managers in NHS Scotland relating to the General Medical Council’s expected level of transparency has brought forth written responses describing my interest as “highly unusual” and “offensive and unprofessional”
5. The forthcoming ABPI register allows any professional to opt out of inclusion.
It is also worth repeating that the information provided to the public consultation on this petition failed to highlight most of the issues identified in points 1 to 5 above.
In terms of cost both to the public purse and the individual patient the Government’s stated wish for a “robust, transparent and proportionate” response would be fulfilled if a single, searchable, open register of financial conflicts of interest that has a statutory basis were to be introduced