§ 5. Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire)What response his Department has made to (a) the report of the inquiry into serious untoward incidents at Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital NHS Trust and (b) the trust's response and action plan; and if he will make a statement. [98930]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Denham)The independent inquiry panel investigated in depth the circumstances of two cases in which women underwent unnecessary surgery for cancer. The report attributes the mistakes to human error on the part of a single clinician. Patients are entitled to receive the highest standards from their national health service, and it is clear from this report that the histopathology service provided to those two patients fell far short of those standards. The report and its recommendations will enable lessons to be learned from those tragic errors and, through the action plan published by the trust, efforts will be made to ensure that such a situation cannot be repeated.
§ Mr. BarnesI am concerned about that reply, because the matter is very serious and affected my constituents. One of the two involved—Anita Froggatt—had a breast removed as a result of an incorrect diagnosis. Is the Minister satisfied that the report was as serious as it should have been? Were not the investigations rather thin in relation to the findings produced? Is the Minister happy with the response from the hospital? Its 21-point action plan seems to state that it is already doing everything that it was asked to do, so either it is not being asked to do enough, or it is not giving a full and correct response to the report. That is a great problem and the Department should investigate those matters further.
§ Mr. DenhamI agree that the matter is extremely serious. I can assure my hon. Friend that I have considered the history of the report in some detail. I am satisfied that questions about the report—especially as to whether there should be further recall or re-examination of previous tests—were carefully considered; the advice of the Royal 460 College of Pathologists was sought on that point. I am satisfied that the action taken was appropriate in the circumstances.
As for the trust's response, I have no evidence that it is dismissive of the recommendations in any way. However, I give my hon. Friend an absolute assurance that it will not be left purely to the trust and its word to ensure that the recommendations are implemented. The trust will be scrupulously monitored by the regional office of the National Health Service Executive. I can give my hon. Friend an assurance that it will also be its responsibility to ensure that every recommendation is implemented in full, for the benefit of patients in his constituency and elsewhere.