Committee (1st Day)

Part of Health and Social Care Bill – in the House of Lords at 6:30 pm on 25 October 2011.

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Photo of Lord Cotter Lord Cotter Liberal Democrat 6:30, 25 October 2011

My Lords, like others, I should declare an interest. My father was a GP and my wife an occupational therapist. I have taken an interest in the NHS for the past 12 years in Parliament, but I feel more intimidated than the noble Lord, Lord Mawhinney, for good reason. However, I see great merit in Amendment 2 and the other amendments in the group. As many colleagues have said in their speeches, there is a big issue here that needs to be addressed in a specific way. To be specific, at Second Reading I raised the issue of healthcare assistants. A concern has been expressed to me by others-and I read in the newspapers-that a voluntary code for healthcare assistants may just not be enough.

This morning I was speaking to a nurse and she made a very clear point. She said: "We are directing healthcare assistants in nursing and we give them the jobs to do but I do have a concern that if they do not have sufficient training they may carry out the job I have given them not particularly well and that is a responsibility which goes back upon my shoulders.". To quote from the papers,

"It is amazing that healthcare assistants, caring for patients in uniforms indistinguishable from nurses, are completely unregistered"-

That may not be quite correct, I do not know-

"and can start work with as little as an hour's training".

I have highlighted this issue for later in the Bill. I hope the Minister will consider this and have time to look at it at a later stage.