Preparation of codes
Human Tissue Bill
2:30 pm
Dr Richard Taylor (Wyre Forest, Independent)
I strongly support the amendments. The Minister was kind enough to provide me with a copy of the code of practice on families and post mortems, which is very recent—it was written in May 2003. It answers many of my questions; to be honest, it answers one question more satisfactorily than she did. It is vital that we have at least the reassurance that existing codes will be taken into account when new ones, if required, are constructed.
The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire mentioned the Royal College of Pathologists guidelines on autopsy practice. Those came out only in May 2002, and will certainly remove some of the almost ghoulish practice that some of us as young housemen and students were appalled to see carried out in the long-distant past. I strongly support the view that codes of practice introduced by the Human Tissue Authority should be built on some of the very satisfactory existing guidelines.