Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Baroness Howarth of Breckland

Tuesday 13th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Howarth of Breckland]

My Lords, I had not intended to speak in this debate, but I want to strike what might be a slightly discordant note at this point in the proceedings. I have a question for the noble Baroness, Lady Emerton, and the noble Earl in relation to clarification.

I will speak later in relation to social workers and that bit of social care which we seem to have forgotten. What has concerned me most in this debate is the total confusion between social care workers and healthcare workers. What really concerns me about the amendment is that it appears to be the health professional who must give instruction to those working in a variety of establishments. I declare an interest as someone who is responsible as a trustee for a large number of elderly and disability care homes. In some of those places, someone qualified in social care and not healthcare is in charge of the establishment. They are therefore responsible for ensuring that the programmes of care are designated with some healthcare professionals, because in nursing homes you need both working together.

I want to be absolutely sure that we do not arrange more confusion, which we will be discussing later today in relation to social care, and undermine even further those people who are looking after the real day-to-day care, not the medical health needs. You need people looking after medical health needs in these establishments, but you also need to worry about stimulation, relatives visiting, the psychological approach to the people in the home, how they will get to hospital and helping the hospital to understand what people with disabilities are saying. All of those things are crucial and need equal registration and care.

I am attracted to the voluntary register because it means that we can look at all these people who are working in the field who have their own professional positions but are different. I would like some clarification and for the House to understand that there is not just a medical group of people caring but a whole tranche of people out there in establishments and in the community looking after those needs, which I am sure noble Lords, if they were in that position, would also want to have looked after.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, this has been a good debate and I, too, congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Emerton, on her initiative in bringing forward her amendment. I should remind the House that I chair an NHS foundation trust and, like my noble friend Lady Wall, we employ many hundreds of healthcare support workers. I agree with everything my noble friend said.

The noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, raised an important point. We are coming on to the issue of social care regulation and the House will know that I am very concerned about the transfer of social care regulation to what is essentially a health body. The noble Baroness, Lady Emerton, will want to respond, but it seems to me that what she has tried to do is to allow the House to have a specific debate on healthcare support workers. The amendment is very much a statement of principle and we will come on to social care workers in a later debate.