Clause 10 - Establishment of Patients' Forums
Health and Social Care Bill
6:00 pm
Dr Peter Brand (Isle of Wight, Liberal Democrat)
I was grateful to have an opportunity to speak in the clause stand part debate on clause 9 because it was so relevant to clause 10. It is right that each trust should have a patients forum, but it also important that these patients forums do not become the tame possession of that trust. I hope that we are not seeing a statutory establishment of leagues of friends of particular hospitals, and particular trusts. My experience of lay involvement, and some of the criticisms of community health councils voiced earlier today, shows that the lay public are well disposed towards health providers as a rule, and there is a great risk of them going native—if one dare use that term.
Our amendment would result in the patients forums becoming a more cohesive power. While it is important that they have a link with the trust, it is equally important that they are required to work collectively. This could be within the health authority area, but we have chosen to go the route of the local authority area, which would match the arrangements that we have already established.
It is important that patients forums are seen to be representative of the public, rather than representative of the trust. For that reason, we suggest that the local authority, mirroring the arrangements that we discussed earlier, should be the umbrella body for these patients forums. This would increase the local accountability, rather than the direct trust influence.