Clause 49 - Extension of role of nurses
Police Reform Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm

Mr John Denham (Minister of State (Police, Courts and Drugs), Home Office; Southampton, Itchen, Labour)

I beg to move amendment No. 227, in page 43, line 26, leave out 'nurse' and insert 'health care professional'.

Mr Bill O'Brien (Normanton, Labour)

With this it will be convenient to take the following: Government amendments Nos. 228 to 238, 245 and 246.

Government new clause 12—Persons authorised to take intimate samples from persons in police detention.

Mr John Denham (Minister of State (Police, Courts and Drugs), Home Office; Southampton, Itchen, Labour)

The Bill already makes provision for registered nurses to deal with the taking of blood specimens with consent in drink-driving cases and in cases under the Transport and Works Act 1992. The amendments under discussion extend that provision to registered health care professionals, who include registered nurses, although the term goes wider. The

particular group that the Government have in mind in introducing the amendment is registered paramedics, who are highly trained clinical practitioners.

Proposed new clause 12 amends the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to allow registered health care professionals to take blood and other intimate samples from suspects at police stations in non-drink-driving cases. Such samples are used for a variety of evidential and investigatory purposes and currently must be taken by a registered medical practitioner.

Allowing registered health care professionals—we have in mind paramedics in particular—to take the entire range of intimate samples simply reflects their expanding role throughout many different medical environments. Enabling the use of the entire range of registered health care professionals and not only registered nurses is a practical measure in law to extend the benefits of the new provision as broadly as possible without compromising standards. However, the Secretary of State will have to introduce regulations on the matter.

The amendments and the new clause will increase the scope for a wider range of health care professionals to provide services in the custody environment. They will help to promote value for money, avoid delays and remove the need to call on the services of a police surgeon when the practical requirements can easily be dealt with by appropriately trained registered health care professionals. I commend them to the Committee.

Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)

We do not foresee any particular difficulties with the amendments. My hon. Friend the Member for South-East Cambridgeshire has some important points to make about the next clause, but I shall not take up the Committee's time on this group, because we believe that what the Government are suggesting is perfectly sensible.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendments made: No. 228, in page 43, line 30, at end insert—

'(2A) In subsection (2) of section 11 of that Act (interpretation of sections 3A to 10 of that Act), after the definition of ''prescribed limit'' there shall be inserted—

'''registered health care professional' means a person (other than a medical practitioner) who is—

(a) a registered nurse; or

(b) a registered member of a health care profession which is designated for the purposes of this paragraph by an order made by the Secretary of State.

(2B) After that subsection there shall be inserted—

''(2A) A health care profession is any profession mentioned in section 60(2) of the Health Act 1999 (c.8) other than the profession of practising medicine and the profession of nursing.

(2B) An order under subsection (2) shall be made by statutory instrument; and any such statutory instrument shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.'''.

No. 229, in page 43, line 31, leave out

'section 11 of that Act'

and insert 'that section'.

No. 230, in page 43, line 36, leave out 'nurse' and insert 'health care professional'.—[Mr. Denham.]

Clause 49, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.