Urgent changes need to be made to medical devices to protect patients

According to the Royal College of Surgeons, drastic and urgent changes need to be made to rules surrounding medical devices, such as pacemakers, to protect patients, including a register of every device in every patient so doctors know whether new innovations may be causing harm.

A recent investigation has revealed that patients are being given unsafe implants, ranging from implanted contraceptives to pacemakers to hip replacements.

The Royal College of Surgeons’ Professor Derek Alderson, has said “drastic” changes are needed, which he has urged the government to “urgently” address.

He said doctors were unsure of the potential harms of some devices and that the risks could increase as technology advanced, and went on to say “There needs to be compulsory registration of every new device and implant that goes into a patient in the United Kingdom.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said the MHRA regulatory body had put in place a “robust process” to assist the regulation of new devices and that it “expected them to follow up any safety concerns swiftly and with patient care in mind.”

They went on to say “We will work with the regulator to see what future changes may be required.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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