HL Deb 24 May 1978 vol 392 cc962-3

2.50 p.m.

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing on the Order Paper in the name of my noble friend Lord Sandys.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what immediate measures are being taken by the Government to improve conditions in operating theatres which give rise to high risk of surgical wound infections.

Lord WELLS-PESTELL

My Lords, I am not aware of any developments which indicate the need for immediate action. Stringent measures are used routinely by staffs concerned to reduce the risk of infection to a minimum and arrangements exist for local control of infection committees to keep under review all matters relating to control of infection in hospitals.

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply, But in view of the evidence collected by a retired surgeon from Lewisham Hospital, will the Minister draw the attention of his Department to the need for further investigation?

Lord WELLS-PESTELL

My Lords, the survey at Lewisham Hospital in 1975, to which publicity has recently been given, was the result of the interest of Mr. Bingold, then a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital. No comparable group of patients was examined in any other hospital and it is not, therefore, possible to determine whether the rate of infection was higher than elsewhere. The overall figure of 3,000 avoidable deaths is a supposition based on what happened in the view of one person at one hospital, when there was no investigation of a comparable nature at any other hospital in the country.

Baroness EMMET of AMBERLEY

My Lords, if there is an investigation proceeding, will Her Majesty's Government give particular attention to the fact that, owing to the closing of a great many operating theatres due to the closure of hospitals, there may be undue pressure on the operating theatres which are still functioning?

Lord WELLS-PESTELL

My Lords, we are aware of the situation; but we are dealing with infection, and it is to that that I wish to direct your Lordships' attention.

Baroness EMMET of AMBERLEY

My Lords, would the noble Lord agree that infection will occur if there is too much pressure on an operating theatre and things occur too quickly?

Lord WELLS-PESTELL

My Lords, that is not necessarily so. The number of germs in your Lordships' Chamber has increased considerably since 2.15 p.m. today when so many of us entered the Chamber. The same is so in an operating theatre. Whatever precautions are taken, there must be a number of people in an operating theatre in order to undertake the operations, and one can never tell the extent or the state of infection which they themselves bring to the theatre.