Clause 4 - Health Professions Wales
Health (Wales) Bill
9:00 am
Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Welsh Office; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Griffiths, for what we hope will be our final sitting if we make good progress.
Amendment No. 12 would remove subsection (3) and amendment No. 16 would insert a new set of words, making the Bill more narrow. I hope that I can convince the hon. Gentleman that the amendments are unnecessary and to reassure him in respect of the points that he made.
Modernisation and reform of the health service in Wales requires a flexible approach and the Assembly has to have the freedom to provide for changing standards in health care, training and development. The amendment would prevent that. Changes to the way in which individual professions work will give rise to new requirements for staff's continuing education and training. The amendment would prevent the Assembly from responding quickly and effectively to changing needs.
The Assembly intends to use the powers in subsection (3) to give the HPW responsibility for quality assurance in the continuing education and training of qualified nurses, midwives, health visitors, allied health professions and health care scientists in Wales. If the amendment is accepted, the Assembly would be unable, for example, to require the HPW to
accredit post-registration workplace and academic training, which would not benefit patients or the health service in Wales. The Assembly would not be able to ask the HPW to take important steps in developing a similar role in respect of health care support workers.
As to amendment No. 16, subsection (3) as drafted provides scope for the Assembly to confirm functions that it exercises on the HPW and the HPW can carry out those functions on behalf of the Assembly. The amendment would prevent the Assembly from conferring functions on the HPW other than those related solely and exclusively to health care profession and health care support workers.