Clause 17 - Co-operation between health bodies and other organisations
Health Bill
2:45 pm
Andrew Murrison (Shadow Minister, Health; Westbury, Conservative)
The Minister has sort of given me some reassurance. Obviously, she understands that this is a difficult area. I suppose that there is no obvious way forward. At the end of the day, if we are going to safeguards patients, clearly there will have to be some sort of transfer of information. The purpose of amendments Nos. 15 and 16, which apply to clauses 17 and 20 respectively, but which are closely related, was to make the Minister aware of our concerns about confidentiality. We have expressed those concerns elsewhere in connection with NHS Connecting for Health and NPfIT and no doubt we will return to the matter at greater length at some point in the future.
Some people might be discouraged from seeking treatment, which is a pity. However, at the end of the day, I guess that a judgment has to be made. I accept the Minister’s assurances and recognise that if we are to enhance the safety of patients, we will have to allow the transfer of information. I hope that it will not be patient-specific unless absolutely necessary and that it will be generic wherever possible. With that in mind, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.