Health and medical law

The Scottish Government issued a consultation on changes to the way independent health care in Scotland is regulated.

• Read the consultation on the Scottish Government website.
• Read our response.

Gillian Mackay MSP ran a consultation on a proposal for a Bill to introduce safe access zones around healthcare settings that provide abortion services.

• Find out more on the Scottish Parliament website.
• Read our response.

The UK Government issued a consultation on proposals to reform the regulation of healthcare professionals and to introduce statutory regulation of physician and anaesthesia associates.

• View the consultation on the UK Government website
• Read our response (June 2021)

The Scottish Government issued a consultation on a Patient Safety Commissioner Role for Scotland.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government's website. 
• Read our response, submitted May 2021. 

The Scottish Government issued a consultation on the future arrangements for early medical abortion at home across Scotland.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government website
• Read our response (January 2021)

The Scottish Government issued a consultation inviting individuals and organisations to consider and respond to the commitments made in the draft plan.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government's website
• Read our response

The Scottish Government issued a consultation to seek the views on the need for further statutory regulation to ensure the safety of people considering or undergoing these procedures.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government's website
• Read our consultation response

The General Medical Council has launched a consultation on remote consultations and prescribing via telephone, video-link or online.

• View the consultation on the GMC's website
• Read the Law Society's response

The UK Government issued a consultation on what measures employers should have in place for employees with health conditions to reduce ill health-related job loss and support people in work. 

• View the consultation on the U.K. Government website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (October 2019)

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on proposals for a new national public health body in Scotland, to be known as ‘Public Health Scotland’.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (July 2019)

The Scottish Government has issues a consultation on the Public Services Reform (the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) (Healthcare Whistleblowing) Order 2019.

• View the consultation on the SPSO website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (June 2019)

The UK Government has launched a consultation on plans to make it easier for people to give consent to be an organ donor.

• View the consultation on the GOV.UK website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (March 2018)

The Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee has issued an inquiry into the Impact of leaving the European Union on health and social care in Scotland.

• View the inquiry on the Scottish Parliament website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (January 2018)

The General Medical Council (GMC) are consulting on revisions to their Outcomes for graduates which set out what newly qualified doctors from UK medical schools must know and be able to do.

• View the consultation on the GMC website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (January 2018)

The House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee has launched an inquiry on the reciprocal healthcare implications of Brexit for UK citizens travelling, living and/or working in the rest of the EU, and for EU citizens travelling, living and/or working in the UK, in both the short and medium term.

• View the inquiry on the UK Parliament website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (November 2017)

This paper provides a brief reflection on the impact that leaving the European Union may have on healthcare and public health in the United Kingdom with particular focus on Scotland.

• The Law Society of Scotland's analysis paper (September 2017)

The UK Government Department for Health has issued a consultation with the intention to give protection from discrimination to an NHS applicant who has previously made, or appears to have made, a protected disclosure under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

• View the consultation on the GOV.UK website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (May 2017)

The General Medical Council (GMC) has issued a consultation on plans to establish a UK-wide Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA). This would create a single, objective demonstration that those who obtain registration with a licence to practise medicine in the UK can meet a common threshold for safe practice.

• View the consultation on the GMC website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (April 2017)

The Scottish Government has issued a consultation on the draft guidance on Healthcare in Schools in Scotland. The guidance will support health boards and schools in the delivery of healthcare support to pupils who need support as a result of a healthcare need.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (April 2017)

This consultation seeks views on increasing the number of deceased organ donation and tissue donors in Scotland.  The consultation looks at two ways of potentially increasing organ and tissue donors – by seeking to increase numbers of referrals and by seeking to increase the number of times a donation is authorised to proceed.

• View the consultation on the Scottish Government website
• Law Society of Scotland's response (March 2017)

The Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee agreed, as part of its budget scrutiny, to examine Integration Authorities’ (IAs) approach to engagement with stakeholders and whether or not IAs are doing enough to involve patients, carers, the third sector and other stakeholders over the design and future of health and social care in their local area.

• View the inquiry on the Scottish Parliament website
• The Law Society of Scotland's response (March 2017)