I rise briefly to comment on this amendment. As far as declaring an interest is concerned, I have not seen private patients because my contracts were such that academics did not do private practice. I have a family member who is a consultant. My daughter is a consultant at the Marsden where I hear there is a high percentage of private patients. I have no idea whether she does private practice or not. I have not seen any benefits of it. Maybe they will come.
However, I remember when I was a student and was training in King Edward VII Hospital in Windsor, in Ascot and other places there were private wings in the same hospital. Yes, the care provided was equal for NHS and private patients. However, one difference today is that NHS patients now receive quite a significant part of their care provided by doctors in training. If we are to ask for equality in how patients are looked after, we must say not only that those patients in private wings cannot jump the queue but that there must be the same quality of care provided by all the medical staff who work in the NHS.
I have one other question, which I would like to put to the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury. How would we manage his amendment when there are to be qualified providers, which might provide care not only for NHS patients but for private patients under their own terms and conditions? How would we manage those qualified providers to ensure that they behave in the same way in dealing with NHS patients?
Health and Social Care Bill
Proceeding contribution from
Lord Patel
(Crossbench)
in the House of Lords on Monday, 7 November 2011.
It occurred during Committee of the Whole House (HL)
and
Debate on bills on Health and Social Care Bill.
About this proceeding contribution
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2010-12Chamber / Committee
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