Today we published in BMJ open an article on Medical-device recalls in the UK and the device-regulation process.

Our conclusion is the number of medical devices subject to recalls or warnings in the UK has risen dramatically. A whopping 1,220% increase.

A substantial number of these devices may have caused serious adverse effects in patients and contributed to healthcare costs. Also significant problems exist in the UK with a lack of access to transparent data and a registry of the highest-risk devices.

The articles worth a read to see the sort of problems we faced in trying to access clnical data on recalled devices. There is also a linked anlysis we wrote in the BMJ

This is what the independent made of the story, "patients lives are put at risk by faulty medical implants."

If you want to know more then look out for tonight's episode of Dispatches on channel 4.