NHS Redress Bill [HL]

I rise to support the noble Earl, Lord Howe, on Amendments Nos. 9 and 33, and to speak to Amendment No. 10. Throughout Second Reading many noble Lords said that what was really needed was some kind of apology and eyeball to eyeball contact between clinicians, health service managers and the patient who may have suffered an accident through a mistake being made or negligence having occurred. I know of no one in the health service who is opposed to that idea. When a mistake has been made or something has happened, the natural instinct of a clinician or anyone working in the health service is to say to the patient, ““We are terribly sorry but accidents happen””. Doctors are not infallible, neither are nurses or those in the professions allied to medicine. They all sometimes make mistakes. It is so important not just that an apology is made but also that the general public and patients in general recognise that those involved in the health service are not infallible. Indeed, people die: we are born and we die. The health service does not provide everlasting life for patients, however much some people would like that. Many noble Lords made the point to which I referred at Second Reading, and the Minister said today in his opening remarks that patients need the provision that we are discussing. Therefore, it is important that it should appear on the face of the Bill. It should comprise not just an explanation but an apology and a full explanation of the events that led to the case being brought before the trust or the relevant part of the health service. As someone who used to work in the health service, I believe that this matter constitutes the most important provision in the Bill, that of restoring the balance whereby doctors and all health service workers can be totally honest with their patients. As the noble Earl said, it is far more important than compensation as it would improve the ambience within the health service and the conditions in which health service personnel work. Therefore, I urge the Minister to include in the Bill a provision to enable the giving of a full explanation and an apology for the sake of patients and everyone working in the health service.