§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what instructions his Department has given with regard to experiments into miscarriages and abortion;
(2) if he will review the workings of ethics committees with regard to confidentiality of patients' records concerning experiments into miscarriage and abortion;
(3) what checks are made to ensure that the patient contacted is the patient who has had either a miscarriage or abortion in relation to experiments into the causes of such miscarriage or abortion;
(4) what instructions he has given to health authorities to preserve professional confidentiality in relation to experiments into miscarriage and abortion;
(5) what instructions he has given to health authorities to preserve professional confidentiality of women in relation to their husbands concerning experiments into miscarriage and abortion;
(6) what account is taken of the emotional and psychological factors when carrying out experiments with women who have had miscarriages and abortions.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeIt is a fundamental principle in medical research that health information about a participant must not be released without their consent to any third party—including their husband. Responsibility for ensuring that confidentiality is maintained lies with the doctor supervising the research—who on ethical matters is accountable to the General Medical Council. The ethics committee which vets a research proposal should satisfy itself as to its scientific and ethical acceptability, including the arrangements for maintenance of confidentiality, before giving its approval. Particular care is clearly needed with research projects concerned with such sensitive subjects as miscarriage and abortion, both in relation to confidentiality and to the emotional and psychological effects on participants.
Guidance has been given to doctors on the carrying out of medical research by a number of professional bodies, including the Medical Research Council and the Royal College of Physicians, who are currently revising their guidance.
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§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many couples have been contacted with regard to experiments into miscarriage and abortion;
(2) whether experiments into miscarriage and abortion have been carried out directly through family practitioners, from consultants at hospitals, or through departments of clinical pathology.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeInvestigations into causes of miscarriage are funded by a variety of organisations, for example the Medical Research Council, locally organised research committees of regional health authorities, voluntary bodies and research units in universities, in some cases with DHSS support. Details of the numbers of subjects approached and the variety of clinical specialisms involved are not collected centrally. It is however clear from the principles in professional guidance that couples should never be contacted unless the patient concerned gives her full consent.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will institute an inquiry into South Tees health authority's handling of an experiment into miscarriage and abortion.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe health authorities concerned are examining as a matter of urgency the way in which the research has been carried out. I am confident that they will be seeking to avoid an occurence of the kind of problems that were reported recently.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what instructions he has given with regard to the taking of blood samples at the homes of patients concerning experiments into miscarriage and abortion;
(2) what instructions he has given to health authorities to ensure that letters written from such authorities in relation to experiments into miscarriage and abortion carry the title of the person writing such letters.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThese are matters which should be considered before submission of a research project for approval by an ethics committee. I deeply regret the occurences arising recently in relation to a particular research project in the hon. Member's constituency. I understand that the health authorities are seeking to ensure that no such incident occurs again.