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Cancer Research UK has simply added its name to a long list of individuals (including Sir Robert Francis QC) and organisations (MPS, MDU) who are opposed to the Medical Innovation Bill. The current list includes charities, patient advocacy groups, lawyers and medics.

Lord Saatchi says that fear of litigation inhibits doctors from offering innovative treatments. On that basis he seeks to promote a new Bill which removes that fear at the expense of a patient protection (compensation for a negligently caused injury).

The key problem is that all of the evidence indicates that doctors do not fear being sued for trying an innovative treatment. Lord Saatchi simply chooses to ignore this unpalatable fact. As more people consider the facts it is likely the list will get longer. The hope is that it will include sufficient parliamentarians to defeat this bill which seeks to solve a problem that does not exist.