§ 58. Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from Calderdale health authority concerning the setting up of a hospital trust.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNone, so far.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that the flexibility proposed in pay negotiations for hospital trusts will be limited to supplementary payments in excess of agreed national salary levels within the health service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. Hospital trusts will be free to follow national pay agreements or to adopt partly or wholly different arrangements.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures he will provide to ensure that the standards of medical and clinical care are maintained in hospitals following the new flexibilities and opportunities provided by the creation of hospital trusts and the creation of practice budgets for some general practitioners' practices; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe Government have proposed in its White Paper "Working for Patients" that a framework of quality control known as medical audit should be established in all hospitals and GP practices in the NHS. Medical audit means that doctors keep careful572W records of how patients are diagnosed and treated and how successful the treatment is. The results can then be considered by other doctors to see if satisfactory clinical standards are being maintained and to advise on possible improvements.
The Government's proposals for medical audit as set out in working paper No. 6 are therefore designed precisely to ensure that the standards of medical and clinical care are maintained. They apply to all hospitals, both self-governing and health authority managed, and to all general practices including those managing practice budgets.