Patient Safety Commissioner

Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Masham of Ilton

Thursday 2nd December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. As I said, the appointment process will follow the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process will be open and transparent and the appointment will be made on merit. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, who will approve a senior independent member of the assessment panel. The appointment will also be subject to pre-appointment scrutiny hearing with the Health and Social Care Select Committee.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB) [V]]

My Lords, given all the pressures on the NHS at this difficult time, is it not more necessary than ever to have a patient safety commissioner who could hear and co-ordinate patients’ voices and act on their concerns? Are there some hopeful candidates waiting?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

I am sure there are hopeful candidates waiting. I am afraid I have no idea who they are—obviously, that is not within my remit. I agree with the noble Baroness that we need to get on with this. I think the department realises that and is concentrating on moving this forward.

NHS: Contaminated Blood

Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Masham of Ilton

Thursday 20th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB)]

My Lords, will America be involved in this inquiry? It provided the contaminated factor 8.

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

I cannot categorically say whether it will be involved, but the point about the inquiry is that it will be far reaching and go into every avenue to be able to get the proper result that we want, so I am sure that will be considered.

NHS: Congenital Heart Disease

Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Masham of Ilton

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

I want to share with noble Lords a little of what these standards are about. I feel quite strongly about this: it is so important, and it is the right way forward to determine where these operations should be done. The standards state:

“Each congenital cardiac surgeon must perform a minimum of 125 … congenital cardiac … surgical procedures … each year, averaged over a three-year period … Each consultant congenital interventionist must be primary operator in a minimum of 50 congenital procedures per year, averaged over a three-year period. There must be a designated lead interventionist who must be primary operator in a minimum of 100 procedures per year, averaged over a three-year period”.

This will ensure optimum outcomes for all patients.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that this debate has gone on for a long time and the insecurity is very bad for patients and for staff, and that it is not just about the Brompton hospital but about other hospitals throughout the country?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

The noble Baroness makes a very good point. This has been fiercely debated since the publication in 2001 of the damning report into the high death rates among babies undergoing heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary. The last time plans were put forward, in 2011, it led to a bitter fall-out, pitting hospitals against senior health bosses, and two years later the proposals were scrapped, with NHS bosses being told to look again. That is why we are now trying to go forward, so that we can cover both adult and children’s services.

Community Pharmacy in 2016-17 and Beyond

Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Masham of Ilton

Thursday 20th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

As I said, the impact assessment was published today. I think that I did answer the noble Lord’s questions. He asked how pharmacies were going to be looked after in deprived areas and I explained about the pharmacy access scheme and how these pharmacies will indeed be protected. He also asked about the integrated pharmacies and as I said there would be £112 million to deliver a further 1,500 pharmacies. They will be integrated into general, joined-up practices within the NHS. This has to be the way to go—multidisciplinary areas where we will be focused on the deployment of clinical pharmacies and pharmacy services in the community and primary care settings. This will make a difference to groups of general practices, care homes and urgent care settings that all have pharmacies within them.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB)]

My Lords, how will the community pharmacies be saved in rural areas? The numbers are very small but the people—such as elderly and disabled people who may not drive—are absolutely stuck. As it is, the pharmacies in my local villages are not open on Saturday afternoons or Sundays, which makes things very difficult, particularly in the summer when there are tourists around. As the surgeries are shut as well at weekends, the only alternatives are the A&E departments.

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

Pharmacies are privately owned and there is competition among them. On the whole, it is beneficial for them to provide the necessary services but, as I said earlier, as far as keeping pharmacies open in rural areas is concerned, we are absolutely committed to that with the pharmacy access scheme.

NHS England: HIV Prevention

Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Masham of Ilton

Tuesday 18th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

Yes, certainly if they lose their appeal, it goes back into the normal commissioning process. Of course we recognise that studies have shown that PrEP has been a success, but we also need to remember that it is a matter of how it is used. There are several ways that we have been tackling HIV until now, and PrEP is only one in a range of activities to tackle it. We need to remember that, for it to work, PrEP needs to be taken daily, and sometimes it is difficult to get this group always to take it daily.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB)]

My Lords, will the Minister give us an assurance that life-saving drugs will not be cut back for people with HIV and other life-threatening conditions?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

As I said earlier, we have difficult decisions to take. It is not up to the Government to decide this. As with all new drugs, these are properly assessed for cost and effectiveness to see how they can be commissioned in the most sustainable and integrated way.