News MDDUS EDITOR Dr Barry Parker
IN May of this year the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) reported on a survey that found that only 14 per cent of people have ever taken part in a clinical trial – but 85 per cent said that they want to help the NHS find better treatments. Another NIHR report in 2017 found that out of the 7,840 general practices in England, 42 per cent are now active in research. There is clearly a willingness among both patients and doctors to become more involved in the research behind new treatments being developed within the NHS and industry. On page 12 of this issue, GP David Shukla offers a personal account of how his practice was recruited to take part in clinical research – what was required and the benefits to both staff and patients, including the “altruism of giving something back to the NHS”. On page 10
“There is clearly a willingness among both patients and doctors to become more involved in research”
we feature a fascinating profile by Adam Campbell of neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, author of bestselling memoir Do No Harm, with further musings from his new book Admissions. Wrong-site
surgery may seem unlikely
but these so-called ‘never events’ occur on a regular basis in surgical settings. Among dental never events, removing the wrong tooth is most common and on page 14 we report on efforts to reduce such mishaps through the promotion of local safety standards for invasive procedures (LocSSIPs).
On page 8 MDDUS CEO Chris Kenny
provides an update on government plans for state-backed indemnity, and Alan Frame (p. 9) looks at how the concept of ‘authority gradients’ can be a crucial ‘human factor’ in patient safety. Our Dilemma on page 20 deals with a doctor being pressured by a friend to prescribe a controlled drug while on holiday, and our Ethics column on page 21 looks at how ethical concerns can differ among professions and the need for both humility and “moral imagination” to understand the perspectives of colleagues and patients alike.
Dr Barry Parker GDPR is here
IT would be hard to miss the news that the GDPR is now upon us as of 25 May. The European-wide General Data Protection Regulation is a comprehensive overhaul of existing data protection law, which hasn’t been updated since the Data Protection Act (DPA) came into being in 1998. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has described it as the “biggest change to data protection law in a generation”. Everyone who
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processes ‘personal data’ should be aware of the new law and of its likely impact. MDDUS has produced helpful guidance for members which can be accessed in our ‘GP risk toolbox’ and ‘Dental risk toolbox’. These resources can be found in the Training & CPD section of
www.mddus.com (login required).
The ICO has also produced
comprehensive guidance on the new GDPR which can be accessed at
tinyurl.com/ya2gcd5d.
MDDUS welcomes new dental advisers as membership grows
MDDUS has recruited two new experienced dental advisers in our London office as membership continues to grow throughout the UK. Stephen Henderson and Susan Willatt joined the dental advisory team, bringing a combined 36 years’ worth of experience as dento-legal advisers. Mr Henderson qualified in London in 1984 and obtained a master’s degree in medical law (LLM) in Cardiff in 2005. After working in hospital practice, he went into practice in Oxford where he still works as a visiting specialist in oral surgery. Prior to joining MDDUS, he worked for another indemnifier for 17 years. He was recently awarded an honorary fellowship by the Faculty of General Dental Practice. Ms Willatt qualified in London in 1983 (BDS) and gained an MBA from
Warwick University in 2000 and a master’s degree in medical law (LLM) in Cardiff in 2004. She worked in general practice (NHS and private) before taking up a clinical and management post in a large dental corporate. In 2000 Ms Willatt took up a part-time post in the community dental service and started working for another dental defence organisation. She soon became company secretary and then head of dental services. Ms Willatt said: “I am excited to be part of a growing company and am really looking forward to providing support and advice for our members.” Mr Henderson added: “I am delighted to join the dynamic team here at
MDDUS and look forward to supporting our members when they need us most.” These two new additions to the dental advisory team come as MDDUS has
enjoyed yet another year of growth in dental membership. Overall, dental membership in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (including GDPs and hospital dentists) increased by 30 per cent in 2017. MDDUS now has a fifth of the UK market share, while Scottish membership increased by 3.8 per cent to maintain two-thirds of the market share. MDDUS head of dental division Aubrey Craig believes the sustained growth is built on a firm commitment to quality and practitioners’ confidence in the indemnity model as the best way to protect patients and the profession. He said: “We are delighted to welcome Stephen and
Susan to our team. MDDUS continues to offer personalised, rapid and flexible service in dento- legal advisory work, support for members in legal proceedings and day-to-day handling of subscriptions and queries.”
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