§ 1. Mr. Clive Soley (Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush)What estimate he has made of legal costs to the NHS incurred by patients taking legal action in the last five years. [82616]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. David Lammy)The NHS Litigation Authority has only collected information on legal costs incurred by the NHS in respect of all clinical negligence claims since April 2002.
§ Mr. SoleyIn view of the amount of money and time taken, including that of professional staff in those cases, could we not find a way in which people can avoid suing, possibly by having a no-fault system? Alternatively, my hon. Friend may remember that some months ago a Mr. and Mrs. Maude chose not to sue, but put their money into a charitable fund, which was used to set up an online diagnostic service. My own constituent Mrs. Braganza also wanted to give money to a hospital despite the fact that it had made a mistake. We need to find a way of doing so that would alleviate both costs and time.
§ Mr. LammyI thank my hon. Friend for his comment. He may be aware that I was a clinical negligence lawyer before coming to the House—[interruption] I therefore know a little about the matter. The chief medical officer is currently reviewing clinical negligence and will report to Ministers shortly. As with all the options, a no-fault compensation scheme is one of the many things that he is considering.
§ Mrs. Marion Roe (Broxbourne)Does the Minister agree that prevention is better than cure, particularly in the national health service, and that in the past the role of community health councils has been extremely helpful in raising patients' concerns before legal action may have been necessary? Will he tell the House what measures the Government are taking to ensure the 736 transfer of skills, knowledge and experience of staff and members of community health councils to the new structures for patient and public involvement in health?
§ Mr. LammyThe hon. Lady will be aware that we are setting up the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which will cover patients forums in all our primary care trusts across the country. We set up patient advice and liaison services to liaise with our constituents in hospitals, and a measure to establish a new inspectorate is going through Parliament. We are in close dialogue with the chair and new chief executive of the commission and I hope that I can make announcements shortly about the interim arrangements.
§ Mr. Michael Clapham (Barnsley, West and Penistone)Does my hon. Friend intend to make an assessment of the cost of needle stick injuries to the NHS? Will he consider introducing a directive to encourage hospitals to follow Barnsley district general hospital in having a needle stick injury strategy?
§ Mr. LammyMy hon. Friend raises a serious issue, which the Department keeps under review. Guidance has recently been issued, but he is right to raise what is an important issue in all our hospitals.