NHS Redress Bill [Lords]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to raise that point in the House. To be kind to him, I suggest that his recommendation is only a half-measure, because the independent person who oversees the investigation of the facts would have the right to call forward expert medical opinion. The suggestion of joint instruction would add nothing that would not be available to the independent person overseeing the investigation. If the hon. Gentleman is serious about independence, he should back the concept of ensuring that whoever oversees the investigation is independent of the trust that is being investigated. Like a coroner, that person would have the right to call forward expert medical advice that was truly independent for the benefit of the patient in question. The only way to guarantee independence is by having somebody independent oversee the investigation. The Minister talked about access to court action. The Government claim that a safeguard is that the patient can reject the scheme and have access to the courts, but that is nonsense. The Government are defining the merit of redress scheme by the occasion of its failure—when people resort to court action even though the scheme is supposed to provide a genuine alternative to litigation. The Secretary of State and the Minister have made great play of the fact that the patient can always complain to the health service ombudsman and ask for a review to be undertaken by the Healthcare Commission. However, the availability of such remedies relates to maladministration and procedural matters, not substantive issues. Overall, the leaky buckets do not change the fact that the trust under investigation would be investigating itself—a clear conflict of interests that acts against patients’ best interests. Nor would the independence that we envisage be more expensive. The Minister has made great play of that point.