NHS Redress Bill [Lords]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that the culture has perhaps not encouraged the issuing of apologies; he was right to draw attention to that point. The point was also made very forcefully by my hon. Friends the Members for Crawley and for Livingston (Mr. Devine) that the culture has not been there to encourage those working at every level in the system to accept responsibility. There has been broad consensus in the House today that we could do better, and the Bill seeks to engender a culture change, a spirit of openness and a willingness to find resolution. This is an important reform that is in tune and consistent with other reforms that the Government are making to ensure that the patient is truly at the heart of the NHS and that the NHS responds first and foremost to the interests of the patient. So we have a good measure of agreement. Many points of detail have been raised in the debate today, and I shall seek to address them in order. However, I shall leave until last the major point of substance about which there has been disagreement across the House—the issue of independence. The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) said that this was not a party-political debate, and he was absolutely right. As a new boy to this job, I was pleased and surprised to hear him outline his policy on clinical negligence. That was the first Conservative policy that I have come across in that area. So there is one up on the board, and we look forward to a few more appearing in the not-too-distant future. The hon. Gentleman also said that the scheme proposed in the Bill is what the NHS should be doing anyway. That is partly true, but I hope that he will accept that one of the problems with the present system is the confusion that often results because the system is unsure whether a patient is also bringing legal action. This can result in a kind of stand-off, and in uncertainty as to the status of the complaint. The Bill will bring absolute clarity to the situation and create a space in which complaints can be clearly addressed. The hon. Gentleman also mentioned disclosure, saying that the provisions would not leave the patient any better off, because nothing would be disclosed. That is not the case. Under the scheme, relevant material will be disclosed to the patient. We are also considering whether an investigation report should be issued to the patient at the end of the process, and we will consider that matter further in consultation with stakeholders. The scheme will not leave the patient no better informed. Indeed, the whole point of the Bill is that patients will be able to find out what has happened and see the information relating to their case. So I am happy to put the hon. Gentleman right on that point.