HC Deb 21 October 2003 vol 411 cc527-8W
Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the proposed new informed consent document will be available for public comment. [132475]

Angela Smith

New consent forms and information on post mortem examinations have been drafted and will form the basis of a 13-week consultation process, which will commence in January 2004. The Department will promulgate these documents together with other new guidance and information to a wide range of key stakeholders, including relatives, and invite their views and comments, which will be analysed following the completion of the consultation process. The documents will also be made available on the Department's website.

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what form of informed consent documentation is being used in Northern Ireland pending the revision of the Human Tissue Act 1961. [132476]

Angela Smith

Trusts were issued with interim guidance on post mortem examination by the Chief Medical Officer in March 2000. This was updated in May 2003. The guidance states that consent should be obtained through the use of a form, normally signed off by the next of kin, which provides clear written information about:

  • what the examination entails.
  • which organs and tissues may be retained and why.
  • how this might impact on the funeral arrangements.
  • whether archiving for research or legal reasons is required.

Copies of the consent form should then become an integral part of the post mortem record, placed in the deceased patient's notes and given to the relative who signed it.

Broadly similar forms are used by all Trusts. New forms have been drafted and will form part of a consultation exercise beginning in January 2004.

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the revision of the(a) Human Tissue Act 1961 and (b) the Anatomy Act 1984. [132478]

Angela Smith

In 2001–02 England and Wales undertook a fundamental and broad review of the law on human organs and tissues taken from adults or children (including foetuses and stillborn children), either during surgery or after death. This review encompassed the two pieces of legislation mentioned by the hon. Member, for which the Northern Ireland equivalents are the Human Tissue Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 and the Anatomy (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.

A public consultation document, "Human Bodies, Human Choices", was launched in July 2002 and copied to key stakeholders in Northern Ireland. This work not only achieved broad consensus on the way forward but also demonstrated that the system of regulation being proposed, under a Human Tissue Authority, could apply equally to Northern Ireland as to England and Wales, in very much the same way as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority operates at present.

Work is well advanced on preparing new legislation covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland issued a summary of these proposals for information on Friday 17 October. It can be viewed at the Department's website: www.dhsspni.gov.uk.