Clause 13 - Code of practice relating to health care associated infections
Health Bill
9:10 am
Andrew Murrison (Shadow Minister, Health; Westbury, Conservative)
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship once again, Mr. Illsley.
The hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) said that he hoped we could rattle through the remaining parts of the Bill. I also hope that we shall make some progress because, as he said, at the moment we are in danger of not reaching some of its important bits. Not to reach them would be a great pity, would it not?
If I may leap to the Government’s defence, amendment No. 100 seems somewhat redundant. As I read it—shortly, the Minister will be able to clarify her intentions—the Bill covers the eventuality to which the hon. Gentleman referred. Occupational health is important and the issue of the transfer of organisms from patients to practitioners, health care workers and people in general in hospital settings is important for two reasons: first, because those people may become ill and secondly because they may unwittingly transfer bugs to other people—patients or otherwise.
I understand the hon. Gentleman’s intentions. They are good ones, although, as I said, my reading of the Bill is that it covers the eventualities to which he referred; shortly, the Minister will clarify. Furthermore, the guidance notes are very good and comprehensive, although perhaps I shall regret saying that. They are helpful and assist us in this matter.
The hon. Gentleman did not mention some of the more catastrophic infections that face our health service. Last week, I raised the issue of viral hemorrhagic fever. It is important fully to appreciate the risks that people working in the health service face as a result of their occupation; perhaps we have neglected that. As we face an increasing threat from more exotic, but nevertheless devastating, infections, it seems appropriate that we should bend our minds towards how we might protect those who work in the health services in processes that are very difficult to control. In the context of occupational health, such infections create unusual circumstances for which there are no procedures. Each one of them is unique, and that means that risk is maximised.
The hon. Gentleman has, perhaps unwittingly, done us a service in prompting us to think not just of patients in the context of hospital-acquired infections but of those who work in the health service. For that we should be grateful. I hope that in a minute the Minister will say that she appreciates the hon. Gentleman’s intentions, but that his concerns are covered in the Bill—and, if not there, in the guidance notes.