Clause 19
NHS Redress Bill [Lords]
10:15 am
John Baron (Shadow Minister, Health; Billericay, Conservative)
I shall conclude with just a few remarks. Opposition Members welcome the Bill and support the Government in their attempts to address the problems of clinical negligence litigation. I hope that we have made that clear. However, the NHS redress scheme must not be a missed opportunity to create a mechanism that has the full confidence of patients and provides a meaningful alternative to going to the court. Again, that is something that we share on both sides of this room.
As far as I can see, only one key issue divides us. We on the Opposition Benches—I believe I speak for the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats—believe that a fact finding stage of the investigation ought to be independent. The Government do not, as the Minister has made reasonably clear in the exchanges this morning. As far as we are concerned, this is a matter of natural justice based on the principle that no man should be judged in his own cause. It is also a pragmatic necessity, in the sense that an investigation without the badge of independence would lack credibility and fail to inspire the confidence of patients.
I have heard what members of this Committee have said, and I listened very carefully to the comments made by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington. He declared an interest with Action for Victims of Medical Accidents and has raised concerns about the lack of independence in the Government’s proposals. That is the position taken by Action for Victims of Medical Accidents as well. If he believes that the fact-finding stage of the investigation under the redress scheme should be overseen by a person independent of the health care trust, where does he stand on this whole issue? The central issue of how one imports independence into the scheme if someone independent is not overseeing the health care trust has not been addressed. If Members do not agree with the simple proposition that it would be a good idea to have someone independent overseeing that fact-finding stage, I would welcome any suggestion, particularly from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington, as to how he and his associates believe that independence ought to be introduced.