§ 2.58 p.m.
§ Baroness Finlay of Llandaffasked Her Majesty's Government:
When permission will be given by the Retained Organs Commission for the respectful disposal of unclaimed residual human material retained at post-mortem examination.
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathMy Lords, the Retained Organs Commission is analysing the findings of its consultation into unclaimed and unidentifiable organs and tissue retained after post-mortem examinations. I understand that it aims to complete that process and provide advice to the Government by 31st March. We shall then be able to assess what further action may be required.
§ Baroness Finlay of LlandaffMy Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. Is the Retained Organs Commission also defining respectful disposal? If cremation is deemed to be the mode of respectful disposal, how will that be effected with unclaimed organs, when no relative or executor is available to complete Form AA to comply with the Cremation (Amendment) Regulations 2000?
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathMy Lords, on the latter point, we will await the advice of the Retained Organs Commission. On the former point, I can reassure the noble Baroness that we will shortly publish a comprehensive interim package of guidance for the NHS. It will pick up the point that the noble Baroness raised about treating such matters with respect.
§ Lord Clement-JonesMy Lords, inevitably, the Alder Hey report and other inquiries have had a 125 damaging effect on public confidence in the post-mortem system. Can the Minister outline what is being done by the Department of Health and the Retained Organs Commission to increase public understanding of the post-mortem system, something that many parents of affected children are calling for?
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathMy Lords, the noble Lord is right to refer to the Alder Hey report, which highlighted many weaknesses in the system and the need for advice to be given to parents, in particular, and the public, in general, about post-mortem procedures. Advice has already been given to NHS trusts in the interim. We are producing an interim package of guidance, under the leadership of the Chief Medical Officer.
When parliamentary time allows, we seek to bring forward new legislation on human tissues and make amendments to the Human Tissue Act 1961. In addition, there will be ongoing work with the NHS to make sure that doctors, in particular, receive guidance on the law and issues to do with consent and on the way in which such matters should be approached—that is, as sensitively as possible.
§ Lord TurnbergMy Lords, is my noble friend the Minister as concerned as I am about the deleterious effect of continuing uncertainty about retained tissue, such as microscope slides, on medical research, on the one hand, and on the recruitment of the pathologists who are so essential to clinical diagnosis, on the other?
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathMy Lords, I understand those concerns. It is important that we get it right. That is why the Retained Organs Commission has undertaken two consultations on the matters that the noble Lord raised. We await eagerly its advice, which we hope to receive by the end of March. I understand the need to proceed sensibly and sensitively, without inhibiting properly governed research with proper consent.
I accept that several cases have provoked fears that medical students will not be attracted into pathology specialisms. I hope that that will not be the case. We have seen an increase in pathology workforce figures since 1997, but we cannot be complacent. The interim guidance that we will issue shortly and the future legislation will provide greater certainty. In itself, that will boost confidence in the pathology profession.