NHS Redress Bill [Lords]

We have had a good debate this afternoon, which has been something of a parliamentary rarity in that we all know something of what we are talking about. That is—dare I say it?—not always the case. All hon. Members, especially those who have contributed to the debate, will have had firsthand experience of the NHS complaints system and of helping constituents to obtain redress from it. As a result, hon. Members talk with knowledge and authority on the issue. I acknowledge that the process can be unsatisfactory and frustrating, often deeply so, for individuals and their families. The hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Hurd) cited the statistic that since 1995 38 per cent. of cases have been abandoned before reaching a conclusion and 43 per cent. have been settled out of court. Those figures show that the current system does not deliver much satisfaction to NHS patients and their families. The vast majority of patients and families are not motivated by a desire to hurt the NHS or to take it to the cleaners, as my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) said. They simply want the system to take proper notice of what has happened, to apologise and to show that steps are being taken to ensure that other patients do not suffer in the same way. Members on both sides of the House have made that point about the motivation of the vast majority of those who come through the doors of our constituency surgeries with complaints about the NHS. We are united on that. It is because the system often does not respond in the right way that people feel that they have no alternative but to use the legal route—it is the only way to get those responsible to sit up and take notice. That said, the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr. Walker)—for whom I have great respect—said that the system never says sorry. That is not entirely true. There have been many examples of good practice in the NHS and we increasingly see a spirit of openness and a willingness to accept criticism and address problems head on. However, I am sure that the NHS could improve in that regard.