Public Trust in Medical Research?

Member of the former Retained Organs Commission, Honorary Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Durham

• Medical progress and human costs. Issues of medical progress. Limits of medicine and medical research. Is medicine going astray? The role of the public. What is good and ethical medicine? The role of ethics in medical research. Ethics and the medical profession. Rules governing medical research. Personal integrity in medical research. Law, medical research and the public. Historical context. Acts of Parliament governing medical education, practice and Research. Public perceptions and law reforms. Non-compliance with the 1961 Human Tissue Act. The Human Tissue Act 1961 was not understood. Organ retention in context. Organ retention in children. Organ retention in adults. Issues of research governance and accountability. Misinterpreting rules of post mortem. Public perceptions of post-mortem examination. Defining hospital-based and coroners' post-mortem. Confusion amongst doctors when putting the law into practice. Certifying and investigating deaths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the Shipman Inquiry. Death Certification and investigation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the Fundamental Review. Ownership of and respect for the body. The validity of the 'no property in a dead body rule'. Legal implication of the 'no property rule' for the living. Past and present thinking in other EU countries. An insurmountable legal problem. Natural law and medical research. Natural law and its relevance. Violation of natural law. Respect for the dead. To do good in all circumstances. Issues of public trust. Erosion of trust. Negligence. Regaining trust. Ethics and the practice of informed consent. Consent issues - gaps between theory and practice. Improving the validity of consent. The medical profession and the public. Medical paternalism. Does medical paternalism have a place? Empowering the public. The contribution of the voluntary patient groups. The role of the public in the future. Empowering the public. Creating an ethical culture in medical research. Creating an ethical research community. Establishing more effective public control over science and medical research. Training to be ethical. Equitable resource distribution. Promoting public understanding of science and medical research - an innovative strategy.