Editorial
Sergio Pitamitz/Corbis
The UK Medical Innovation Bill: hype and hope
For more on the Medical Innovation Bill see http:// medicalinnovationbill.co.uk/thenew-bill/ For the Saatchi Daily Telegraph article see http://www. telegraph.co.uk/health/saatchibill/10798826/Saatchi-BillPeople-power-drives-the-fightto-cure-cancer. html#source=refresh
On June 5, the advertising magnate Maurice Saatchi reintroduced the Medical Innovation Bill into the UK House of Lords. Anguished and angered by the lack of effective treatment for his wife, who died from ovarian cancer 3 years ago, the Bill aims to protect doctors from litigation should they choose different treatment approaches when established treatment has failed. The Bill does not alter UK law concerning patients’ consent, nor the current common law of medical negligence (the Bolam and Bolitho test). Saatchi’s Bill cites “a culture of fear and defensive medicine in the NHS”, which it believes to be a deterrent to innovative practice and potential life-enhancing treatment. It has been amended to give reassurance that doctors cannot indulge in reckless practice—the new wording stipulates how any diversion from conventional treatment must be registered in advance and approved by a multidisciplinary team and a doctor’s “responsible officer”. Another key amendment is the obligation to share experiences of innovative approaches; the University of Oxford will have a coordination role here, more detail
of which needs clarification during the Bill’s progress through the House of Commons committee stage. Unsurprisingly, Saatchi has used a powerful media machine to gain support for the Bill; the leading circulation UK broadsheet Daily Telegraph has given it extensive coverage, and a social media campaign that went viral has doubtless contributed to the Bill’s support from most of the 18 000 responders (including doctors, patients, lawyers, and medical institutions) to its public consultation phase. But the media hype—”Saatchi Bill: people power drives the fight to cure cancer”, rang out one headline recently, of an article written by Saatchi himself—is at best misleading. If the Bill is passed into law next year, its potential strength will be in the sharing of information from innovative practice, to help inform future research programmes. For however brilliant and innovative a doctor, real medical innovation occurs through the tireless efforts of a partnership between patients and the research community, and in the application of a science-based approach to treatment and prevention. The Lancet
Image Source/Corbis
The World (fizzy drink) Cup 2014
See Correspondence page 2041 See Series pages 2083 and 2090
For more on Latin America’s healthy eating policies see World Report Lancet 2013; 382: 385–86
2020
To the dismay of public health experts, it has become common to see fast-food and sugary drinks companies sponsoring major sporting events. The 2014 FIFA World Cup, which started this week in Brazil, is no exception, as highlighted in a letter in today’s issue by Thiago Hérick de Sá. FIFA’s partners include soft-drink firm Coca Cola and its sponsors include fast-food giant McDonald’s and beer company Budweiser. The visibility and physical presence of these companies and their products is likely to be huge at the World Cup events and side events throughout Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. As detailed in The Lancet last year, Latin America is taking substantial measures to try to introduce healthy food laws to combat childhood obesity. Efforts in countries, including Brazil, have ranged from improving school food options to labelling regulations and advertising restrictions for unhealthy foods. The 2014 World Cup’s food and drink partners and sponsors represent a direct attack on these attempts to better child health.
However, it is not just sporting events that are the problem. As de Sá notes, unbelievably Coca Cola was a sponsor of the 2014 International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Rio de Janeiro. “The sponsorship was not just financial”, he writes, the company “was at side meetings, in the sponsors’ hall, giving away its products and propaganda”. This partnering is disgraceful. Health and medical conferences must raise their ethical standards and avoid such financial links. International sports federations should, and can, do better too. FIFA has several worthy social responsibility initiatives, for example: “FIFA has been engaging with its stakeholders and other institutions to find sensible ways of addressing environmental issues and mitigate the negative environmental impacts linked to its activities.” However, none of its projects relates directly to health. Supporting physical activity and healthy eating efforts should be a natural link for a sporting federation. Kicking the unhealthy sponsorship habit, FIFA, would be an excellent start. The Lancet www.thelancet.com Vol 383 June 14, 2014
Sergio Pitamitz/Corbis
The UK Medical Innovation Bill: hype and hope
For more on the Medical Innovation Bill see http:// medicalinnovationbill.co.uk/thenew-bill/ For the Saatchi Daily Telegraph article see http://www. telegraph.co.uk/health/saatchibill/10798826/Saatchi-BillPeople-power-drives-the-fightto-cure-cancer. html#source=refresh
On June 5, the advertising magnate Maurice Saatchi reintroduced the Medical Innovation Bill into the UK House of Lords. Anguished and angered by the lack of effective treatment for his wife, who died from ovarian cancer 3 years ago, the Bill aims to protect doctors from litigation should they choose different treatment approaches when established treatment has failed. The Bill does not alter UK law concerning patients’ consent, nor the current common law of medical negligence (the Bolam and Bolitho test). Saatchi’s Bill cites “a culture of fear and defensive medicine in the NHS”, which it believes to be a deterrent to innovative practice and potential life-enhancing treatment. It has been amended to give reassurance that doctors cannot indulge in reckless practice—the new wording stipulates how any diversion from conventional treatment must be registered in advance and approved by a multidisciplinary team and a doctor’s “responsible officer”. Another key amendment is the obligation to share experiences of innovative approaches; the University of Oxford will have a coordination role here, more detail
of which needs clarification during the Bill’s progress through the House of Commons committee stage. Unsurprisingly, Saatchi has used a powerful media machine to gain support for the Bill; the leading circulation UK broadsheet Daily Telegraph has given it extensive coverage, and a social media campaign that went viral has doubtless contributed to the Bill’s support from most of the 18 000 responders (including doctors, patients, lawyers, and medical institutions) to its public consultation phase. But the media hype—”Saatchi Bill: people power drives the fight to cure cancer”, rang out one headline recently, of an article written by Saatchi himself—is at best misleading. If the Bill is passed into law next year, its potential strength will be in the sharing of information from innovative practice, to help inform future research programmes. For however brilliant and innovative a doctor, real medical innovation occurs through the tireless efforts of a partnership between patients and the research community, and in the application of a science-based approach to treatment and prevention. The Lancet
Image Source/Corbis
The World (fizzy drink) Cup 2014
See Correspondence page 2041 See Series pages 2083 and 2090
For more on Latin America’s healthy eating policies see World Report Lancet 2013; 382: 385–86
2020
To the dismay of public health experts, it has become common to see fast-food and sugary drinks companies sponsoring major sporting events. The 2014 FIFA World Cup, which started this week in Brazil, is no exception, as highlighted in a letter in today’s issue by Thiago Hérick de Sá. FIFA’s partners include soft-drink firm Coca Cola and its sponsors include fast-food giant McDonald’s and beer company Budweiser. The visibility and physical presence of these companies and their products is likely to be huge at the World Cup events and side events throughout Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. As detailed in The Lancet last year, Latin America is taking substantial measures to try to introduce healthy food laws to combat childhood obesity. Efforts in countries, including Brazil, have ranged from improving school food options to labelling regulations and advertising restrictions for unhealthy foods. The 2014 World Cup’s food and drink partners and sponsors represent a direct attack on these attempts to better child health.
However, it is not just sporting events that are the problem. As de Sá notes, unbelievably Coca Cola was a sponsor of the 2014 International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Rio de Janeiro. “The sponsorship was not just financial”, he writes, the company “was at side meetings, in the sponsors’ hall, giving away its products and propaganda”. This partnering is disgraceful. Health and medical conferences must raise their ethical standards and avoid such financial links. International sports federations should, and can, do better too. FIFA has several worthy social responsibility initiatives, for example: “FIFA has been engaging with its stakeholders and other institutions to find sensible ways of addressing environmental issues and mitigate the negative environmental impacts linked to its activities.” However, none of its projects relates directly to health. Supporting physical activity and healthy eating efforts should be a natural link for a sporting federation. Kicking the unhealthy sponsorship habit, FIFA, would be an excellent start. The Lancet www.thelancet.com Vol 383 June 14, 2014
