{"id":6387,"date":"2013-09-12T15:06:46","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T15:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=6387"},"modified":"2017-05-10T19:21:31","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T19:21:31","slug":"medical-innovation-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/medical-innovation-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"The Medical Innovation Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have had a funny few weeks, full of strange situations such as being stranded with broken cars, dealings with bureaucracy, obscenely long dentists appointments (too much chocolate probably!), and trying to get back into a semblance of order both in terms of the flooded house (that happened way back in June), and the start of a new school year. \u00a0 It would be easy to naval gaze about some of the stuff that life seems to have currently dealt us, but before any amount of self-pity crept in, something arrived to make me realise that there are always much more important matters afoot, and that minor problems may well seem like a luxury to others who are dealing with illness or with loved ones who are seriously ill…<\/p>\n

I don’t do politics on here usually (which is probably just as well!) but it’s not every day that you receive an invitation to attend the House of Commons to listen to Maurice Saatchi’s<\/a> new Proposed Medical Innovation Bill<\/a> – an invite brought about no doubt by a piece I had written a couple of months back for the lovely Annie<\/a>, about the loss of my paternal Grandparents to Cancer, and also the loss of my lovely Uncle<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Unfortunately, timing issues meant that I couldn’t pop back home to attend in person (which I was sad about as it would have been amazing to see what it’s like inside “Big Ben”, I kind of imagine it all to be a bit “Hogwartish”!)\u00a0 but I was able to attend by the power of social media – and spent an hour and a half listening to, and taking part in the discussion about the proposed Bill itself – which aims to give doctors more clinical freedom.<\/p>\n

So when did the idea for the proposed Medical Innovation Bill begin?\u00a0 Probably I might imagine at the moment Novelist Josephine Hart <\/a>received her Ovarian Cancer diagnosis.\u00a0\u00a0 Devastated by the archaic treatment that his beloved wife had to then endure (most cancer treatment is around 40 years old – did you know that?), and spurred on by her untimely death two years later, Lord Saatchi vowed to cure cancer.\u00a0 Not by starting a new medical career, but by introducing a Bill that would allow doctors to innovate in their professional capacity when it comes to a patient’s individual needs\u00a0 (no two patients are the same, why should they be given the same treatment?) without fear of litigation.\u00a0\u00a0 That is not to say that Doctors would ever be given free rein by the way – all decisions would come before a Professional panel and would need prior approval (as they do now!)…. It will just enable doctors to widen the treatment that they can currently try.<\/p>\n

We listened to Maurice Saatchi so eloquently describe the loss of his wife, before we heard from Debbie Binner<\/a>, who rather heartbreakingly lost her daughter Chloe earlier this year at the age of 18 from a rare from of Cancer (it was at this point, my Google Hangout briefly dropped, which was probably just as well as it gave me time to recompose myself).\u00a0\u00a0 We went on to hear Professor Andy Hall,<\/a> (Director of The Northern Institute for Cancer Research) describe how some cancers are no longer the death sentences they used to be, and ask that doctors be allowed to advance treatments for other cancers through medical innovation.\u00a0 We also heard from Daniel Greenberg<\/a> the Barrister who constructed the bill itself.\u00a0\u00a0 We then heard the various moving stories of those who had been invited to learn about the Bill (some of whom are receiving treatment for cancer).\u00a0 Throughout it all I couldn’t question anything against it, to me it just makes complete sense.<\/p>\n

I think it is important to note that I don’t particularly care about the political backgrounds of the parties who have raised and who are supporting this Bill.\u00a0 What I do care about is the fact that if the Medical Innovation Bill was in force when my loved ones were suffering, they might still be here – or we might at least have had more time to spend with them.\u00a0 It is also important to note that this is not just about the treatment of cancer either, it is about the treatment of any and all serious illnesses.<\/p>\n

The Medical Innovation Bill was first read in Parliament yesterday by Michael Ellis <\/a>MP.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It will be given a second reading tomorrow at 2.30pm.\u00a0\u00a0 If you would like to show your support in pushing this through, then please do get in touch with your local MP.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You can also use the powers of social media (follow @saatchibill<\/a> on Twitter), debate, discuss and bring this to people’s attention.\u00a0\u00a0 Please.<\/p>\n

For further reading, please see here:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christine Mosler<\/a>, Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"IMG_4222\"<\/a>My Grandmother’s Favourite Flower<\/em><\/p>\n

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