§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the principal aspects of the guidelines governing the conduct of appeal hearings under the health service complaints procedures as they applied in 1991–92, with respect to the safe keeping of original NHS general practitioner and hospital records in his Department's vaults during the adjournments of such hearings; what records are kept of retrievals of such records during any such adjournment of a hearing; what are the rules relating to the notification to appellants or their legal representatives on the resumption of the hearing of such retrieval of documents and records; and if he will make a statement; [24780]
(2) what departmental records exists of retrieval and replacement between 19 March and 7 September 1992 of files held in his departmental vaults containing the original general practitioner records and hospital records of Robert Powell (deceased), of 138 Brecon road, Ystradgynlais, pertaining to the adjournment appeal by Mr. William Powell of the same address and father of the deceased child under the NHS complaints procedure in relation to primary health care. [24784]
§ Mr. RedwoodThe regulations governing the handling of complaints against GPs make no specific provision about the safe-keeping of such documents in the circumstances described. The security of all documents is 375W of course subject to the Department's overall policy on record keeping. Only the hospital records of Robert Powell were held by the Department between March and September 1992.
The only record of retrieval during that period concerns the retrieval made in response to a request, made by a letter dated 13 August 1992, from Mr. Powell's solicitors for the hospital records to be subject to scientific testing. The other parties to the appeal were made aware of the request.