§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the quality ratings of each health care centre under the criteria used for the assessment of the quality of clinical care;
(2) what assessment he has made of the quality of care available in (a) the Royal Victoria hospital and (b) other health care;
(3) which health care centres will not be used again following assessment by his Department.
420W
§ Mr. HanleyI assume that the hon. Gentleman is inquiring about medical audit. As I stated in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, South (Rev. Martin Smyth) on 19 April,Official Report, column 19, reports on medical audit are prepared on an annual basis by a regional audit advisory committee and area audit advisory committees in each board. These are then presented to my noble Friend Lord Arran. They are not published, nor are there any plans to do so. The reports are, however, available to boards, trusts and other provider units; specialties within units; and to GPs where they are subject to medical audit.
It is not intended that the findings of medical audit should be used in making a case for the closure of a health care facility. The purpose of medical audit is to ensure that the services being provided meet the agreed standards for those services and that any shortcomings identified are corrected as soon as possible.