Clause 16 - Protection of property
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
12:15 pm
Dr Evan Harris (Oxford West and Abingdon, Liberal Democrat)
The hon. Gentleman is talking a lot of sense on this mater. However, there is a further pressure; not just from primary care trusts and Government policy, but from quality watchdogs. Watchdogs might say that it was no longer safe to provide a certain level of service—such as high-risk maternity services—in a certain building or a certain trust and that those services must be provided in another area. I hope that that does not happen too often, but I hope that it happens when appropriate.
However, the wording of amendment No. 15 might prevent that quality from being introduced and safeguarded, because of the words ''comparable level of service''. There might be no such service, and the wording of the amendment might tie hands too tightly.