House of Lords Debate – Medicines and Medical Devices Bill (2 September 2020)

Summary

This was a debate from the House of Lords on the 2 September 2020 on the second reading of the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill 2019-21.

The intention of this bill is to confer power to amend or supplement the law relating to human medicines, veterinary medicines and medical devices; make provision about the enforcement of regulations, and the protection of health and safety, in relation to medical devices; and for connected purposes.

Content

During the debate on the second reading of the Bill there were contributions from a range of parliamentarians, reflecting on how it related to the recommendations in the recently published First Do No Harm report by the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, chaired by Baroness Cumberlege (also known as the Cumberlege Review).

Some points of interest from the debate included:

• Baroness Cumberlege noting concerns that "rumours are absolutely rife of a ritual burial" of the First Do No Harm report.
• She noted plans to create a parliamentary group called First Do No Harm to ensure the recommendations of the report were implemented.
• She stated her intention to put down an amendment to the Bill to include a proposal to appoint a patient safety commissioner, one of the key recommendations of the report.
• In his closing comments Lord Bethell, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department of Health and Social Care), noted that this amendment had support from a number of members of the House of Lords and that they had sent "a clear message to the Government and the public that patient safety must be paramount in how we regulate medicines and medical devices".

Follow the link below for the full transcript.