§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's guidelines on the transfer of the infirm from National Health Service care to the private sector with special reference to the procedure to ensure that a person's medical needs are met.
§ Mr. FreemanCircular HC(89)5 which was issued to health authorities in February 1989, together with a booklet "Discharge of Patients from Hospital" emphasised that proper arrangements should be made for any necessary continuing care before patients are discharged from hospital. A copy has been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the problem of the premature removal of old people from private nursing homes on the instructions of owners, in circumstances where such individuals have been accepted by the owners and then a decision by the owners taken subsequently that the home could not cope with a person's medical needs; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanNone. The primary role of a nursing home is to meet the nursing needs of its residents and the person responsible for the home has a duty to ensure that sufficient and suitable services are provided.
Health authorities inspect each home at least twice a year to ensure that the conditions of registration are being met. But inevitably some patients will deteriorate to a point where they need the level of medical care that can be provided only in a hospital.