National Blood Service

Debate between Andrew Stephenson and Jim Dobbin

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Westminster Hall

[Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab/Co-op)]

Thank you, Mr Williams, for relieving me of my Chairman duties so punctually. It was a great relief to have a rest and a coffee before I opened this debate. I am pleased to see the Minister in her place, because this is a subject that she will understand from her time in the national health service. I requested this debate on the future of the National Blood Service to highlight the intentions of the Government to sell off “elements” of the service to the private sector. I understand that there have been some preparatory discussions with a number of contractors. That was revealed in a report in the Health Service Journal. Three possible contractors are Capita, DHL and TNT.

In the paperwork relating to this debate, Members may notice that I have an “R” after my name. I spent 34 years in the national health service. Although I specialised as a medical scientist in microbiology in the NHS, I spent some of my former years in the National Blood Service, particularly in emergency transfusion services, so I have some experience of the subject.

The NHS staff who deliver that service are highly skilled and highly trained and it is essential that they are. I notice that a number of my colleagues are here, and I am quite happy for them to get involved in this debate. I will only spend about 10 minutes talking on the subject.

The annual review of the National Blood Service—and it is its own review—highlights the efforts that have gone into offering a world-class service to the NHS. It is probably the best blood service in the whole of the globe. Thanks to its unique clinical knowledge and experience and the support that it receives from its many dedicated donors and families, many people who need blood and organs can be saved. In its annual review, the organisation has spent some time evaluating its system and performance. In other words, it has looked at itself in great depth and that has allowed it to achieve substantial savings and to lower the cost of a unit of blood. According to its annual review, a unit of blood has dropped from £140 to £130 and it should reduce further to £125 this year, which will mean a saving of £30 million a year to the NHS. That money can be reinvested in NHS front-line patient care.

The National Blood Service administers not just units of blood, but organ donation, tissue donation and work on stem cells. There have also been improvements in the delivery of organ donation procedures, including training additional specialist nurses and increasing the numbers of people who are prepared to contribute organs. User hospital trusts pay for the blood products and services. It is important that both hon. Members and the public understand that blood and tissue donors give their services for free.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. May I ask him a question on the subject of reform? The National Blood Service is crying out for new donors. Should the fact that there is still an arbitrary ban on certain groups of society giving blood, such as gay men, be up for review or does he think that such a ban is okay?

[Jim Dobbin]

Everything should be up for review at the present time. I am quite sure that the National Blood Service is considering that matter as part of its review.

Donors give their services absolutely free to the national health service. The Department of Health funds the production of all the organisation’s services within its factories, processing centres and laboratories. The system has a record of sound financial control, of which the NHS should be proud. I was in the service when cleaning services were compulsorily tendered out to the private sector. If my memory is correct, that resulted in a reduction in the quality of service. We saw wards cleaned less frequently and an increase in hospital infections such as clostridium difficile, E. coli 0157 and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We have all seen the publicity that such infections have received. Privatisation would introduce an element of cost cutting in order to increase profit. Shortcuts, reduced training and a reduction in quality are all strong possibilities.

The public who donate their services for free will be discouraged from taking part if the profit motive is introduced. The demand for blood from those who have serious health conditions will not diminish, but the supply of donors is in danger of being reduced.