HC Deb 19 October 1999 vol 336 cc240-1
4. Mr. David Hinchliffe (Wakefield)

What steps he is taking to regulate the provision of health care by the independent sector. [92587]

The Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Alan Milburn)

I am determined to improve the current arrangements for regulating private health care. An effective regulatory system is essential to provide patients with the protection to which they are entitled. I shall set out my proposals on the way forward shortly, following the extensive consultation that we have undertaken and taking account of the helpful report from the Select Committee on Health earlier in the year.

Mr. Hinchliffe

I welcome my right hon. Friend to his new position and pay tribute to his predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson), who did a first-class job for the past two years.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has mentioned the Select Committee report on regulation of independent medical care. The Committee as a whole was concerned at the extent to which the national health service in a number of ways subsidises the private health sector. It was especially concerned about the way in which repair work is undertaken in the NHS where things have gone wrong in the private sector, which happens quite frequently. Has my right hon. Friend any assessment of the costs to the NHS of such problems in the private sector? Can he say what steps he will take to recoup such costs directly from the private hospitals concerned or the insurers who are involved with the patients?

Mr. Milburn

My hon. Friend raises an extremely important issue. I join him in praising the work of my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for—

Mr. Simon Burns (West Chelmsford)

Holborn and St. Pancras.

Mr. Milburn

Thank you. It is always nice to have a bit of co-operation from the hon. Gentleman. It makes a change. My right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) did a sterling job in laying the foundations for a modernised health care system. I was very proud to serve with him and to follow in his footsteps.

Clearly, we need to look extremely carefully at the relationships between the private and public health care sectors. It is not just about regulation: we must ensure not only effective regulation, but that, where there are arrangements between the NHS and private sector, they are not to the detriment of the NHS.

Mr. Stephen Dorrell (Charnwood)

I join others in welcoming the Secretary of State to his new responsibilities. I invite him to mark his appointment by telling the House when he expects the Government to redeem their election pledge to make proposals for the reform of the finance of long-term care in the independent residential and nursing home sector.

Mr. Milburn

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his kind comments.

We have fulfilled our election pledge by establishing the royal commission on long-term care for the elderly. However, we are considering its conclusions. I will make an appropriate statement after I have considered them.