§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) in what circumstances blood donor sessions may be conducted by nurse managers rather than by doctors; and whether his Department has issued any guidance to regional health authorities on the subject;
(2) whether he will issue guidance to all regional health authorities that blood donor sessions should take place only when an appropriately qualified doctor is in attendance;
(3) which regional health authorities have replaced medical officers managing blood donor sessions by specially trained nurses; and what representations he has received about possible risks associated with this change.
§ Mr. FreemanAt present North East Thames is the only regional health authority in which specially trained nurse managers are in charge of blood donor sessions. In this region there is no doctor present at a session, but there is immediate access to medical advice. This method of work began as a detailed pilot trial in April 1985. At that time the Department's advisory committee on the national blood transfusion service (ACNBTS) studied the detailed protocol for the scheme and the results of the trial, and its representatives, along ith 20 independent assessors, looked at the procedure in practice. The ACNBTS decided that the new procedure presented no risks to donors, and Ministers have received no representations to the contrary since the end of the trial. Any decision to implement the procedure in another regional transfusion centre would be for the region to make, in consultation with the national director of the national blood transfusion service.