Health Bill [HL]

I shall speak to Amendment 43 in the group. It is a simple amendment about consultation and inclusiveness. I have no doubt that the content and format of quality accounts will evolve over the years as we get better at using them and discover more of what we want from them. At the same time, one of the things we want to avoid is for changes to the form and content of quality accounts to take place too often. When they do take place, they should be the subject of broad agreement among stakeholders or, at the very least, stakeholders should be given an opportunity to express their views about any proposed changes before they are set in stone. Part of the value of quality accounts will be derived from the trends they highlight over time. It would be highly regrettable if it becomes difficult or impossible to discern these trends because of frequent changes to the content of the accounts. I should be glad if the Minister could offer some reassurance to the Committee on that point. It would also be helpful to hear from the Minister that healthcare providers will not be subject to constant chopping and changing in terms of the quality data they are required to supply and publish. Equally, they should not be required to collate a greater and greater volume of mandatory metrics and indicators. I am not in favour of having more than a certain amount of prescription from Ministers in this area, partly because on principle I think that we should keep prescription to a minimum and partly because I believe in clinicians and providers taking ownership of the data that they produce and making them relevant to them and to the patients whom they serve. With those thoughts uppermost in my mind, I look forward to the Minister’s reply.