Health Bill

moved Amendment No. 57:"Page 10, line 16, at end insert ““which must include the Healthcare Commission””" The noble Baroness said: This amendment deals with consultation. It is a means of raising the issue of who the Secretary of State must consult when he proposes to issue a draft. I also had in mind any future drafts of a code of practice. I gather from what the Minister was saying that the document in front of us is not intended to remain as it is for all time. It is subject to future change. The requirement for Ministers to consult the Healthcare Commission is a way of highlighting that we have not until now had a comprehensive and extensive surveillance system, which the Minister talked about. It seems to me that the Healthcare Commission is going to be deeply involved in the analysis of the performance of trusts and it is the body that is most likely to have the most comprehensive picture of incidence of infection. I also want to raise more widely the issue of consultation. During my preparation for this Bill, I have been impressed not least by the range of patients’ groups and interest groups that have come forward to talk about their experiences. A number of different bodies and lobby groups are beginning to pick up this issue and talk about it extensively. I want to understand the scope of what the consultation will include. Part of that is the need to understand that new methods and new techniques of infection control develop. Some are being piloted at the moment in certain trusts. To what extent will revision of the code be based on developing knowledge, which is in future most likely to be collated via the Healthcare Commission? I beg to move.