HL Deb 06 November 2000 vol 618 cc130-1WA
Lord Morris of Manchester

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 4 October (WA 218) on resuscitation policy in National Health Service hospitals, whether in future they will be able to report to Parliament on clinical practice in resuscitation decision-making in National Health Service hospitals; and what information they have or will be seeking on comparative practice in non-National Health Service hospitals. [HL4207]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)

As stated in the reply given on 4 October (WA 218), the Secretary of State for Health has asked the Commission for Health Improvement to pay particular attention to resuscitation decision-making processes as part of its rolling programme of reviews of clinical governance arrangements put in place by National Health Service organisations. The commission will report its findings to the Secretary of State.

Clinical practice in resuscitation decision-making is one example of clinical decision-making which takes place in hospitals every day. Resuscitation decisions are made on an individual basis taking full account of the circumstances of each case, and such decisions are subject to local audit.

We do not require independent hospitals to provide this information. However, we are introducing a new regulatory framework for the inspection of the independent healthcare sector through the Care Standards Act 2000. As part of the work on developing standards for independent hospitals, we will consider the need for them to have a policy on resuscitation.