Maurice Sunkin QC (Hon), Professor of Public Law in the School of Law, University of Essex and Dr Susan McPherson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex have published an article entitled ‘The Dobson-Rawlings pact and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Impact of Political Independence on Scientific and Legal Accountability’.

The article, an example of the rich possibilities for cross-disciplinary work on law and health matters, considers whether the independence of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), while safeguarding guidelines from commercial lobbying, may render NICE legally and scientifically unaccountable.

The analysis examines the role of judicial reviews and stakeholder consultations in place of peer review in light of current debates concerning the depression guideline.

The full article is published in Volume 216, Issue 4 (pp. 231-234) of The British Journal of Psychiatry and can be accessed here. The full text is available here.