BMJ ethics committee elects new chairperson

The BMJ ethics committee has elected Dr Iona Heath as its new chairwoman after the resignation of its former chairman Dr Alexander McCall Smith.

Dr Heath, who is a general practitioner in Kentish Town, north London, has been chairwoman of the ethics committee of the Royal College of General Practitioners since 1998 and was previously vice chairwoman of the college.

Dr McCall-Smith, who is professor of medical law at the University of Edinburgh, resigned as chair of the committee after the huge success of his detective novels set in Botswana, which began with The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. He is the author of more than 50 books, which include academic titles and children's books as well as his best selling series set in Africa. He used to be deputy chairman of the Human Genetics Commission.

The committee, which was set up in 2000, has the role of clarifying, reviewing, and developing editorial policies on issues such as consent to publication of material arising from the doctor-patient relationship, competing interests for authors, and prior disclosure of results to research participants.

It is also there to help to formulate new editorial policies, advise editors on ethics questions that arise during routine editorial work and advise editors on their moral duties and responsibilities to patients, research participants, and others.