NHS Redress Bill [HL]

As the noble Baroness said, Amendment No. 26 would commit the scheme to engage an independent medical expert in all cases. I agree that in some cases the services of a jointly instructed independent medical expert may be appropriate to help resolve cases under the scheme. Clause 8(1)(b) provides the flexibility for the provision of services which may help to reach an agreement to settle. It is intended that further consultation with stakeholders will take place to identify what services might be most appropriate and effective for these cases. Options include mediation services or the services of a jointly instructed independent medical expert. The expertise covered in this amendment would therefore be available in appropriate cases. However, it would not be appropriate for the services of a medical expert to be engaged for all cases under the scheme; that could be unnecessarily bureaucratic and—dare I mention it—potentially, not an effective use of public funds. We are suggesting that under the provisions of Clause 8(1)(b) we would ensure that services would be provided that would help to reach an agreement to settle, and that that could include an independent medical expert in particular cases. As for the general issue of independence, I repeat what I said earlier about the access to independent legal advice before an offer is accepted. We are not against independence in this Bill, but we are trying to relate it to particular points in the system.