…The problem of fault compensation referred to in the first issue of Medical Ethics is a continuing one. It is certainly one that I am interested in myself and… think that no fault damage incurred in non- therapeutic research should be compensated without the need to prove medical negligence. However it seems to me that the harms meted out by ‘nature’ and also by the hazards of medical intervention, when carried out in good faith… cannot realistically be compensated in money terms. This would simply be too expensive for almost all countries, let alone the developing countries. The compensation that is available is treatment and that can be provided free…

(From Dr. Gillon’s letter to Dr. H. S. Wyatt. – by permission of Drs. Gillon and Wyatt.)