Health and Social Care Bill

Baroness Barker Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Walton of Detchant]

My Lords, I shall be brief but, as always, my noble friend Lady Masham was very persuasive. I have always felt, as indeed she does, that there is a powerful case to be made for the statutory regulation of healthcare assistants not only in hospitals but in homes, particularly old people’s homes. As we heard during the debate on the amendment tabled by my noble friend Lady Emerton, the Government are entirely persuaded that at present the regulation of such individuals could not be done by statute. I must say that I feel uncomfortable about that.

Is there any means by which the Government can suggest a mechanism whereby, perhaps in consultation with the Care Quality Commission, the terms of voluntary registration of healthcare assistants could be based on a set of agreed principles which were accepted generally by all the professions concerned? As it exists at the moment, voluntary registration is not adequate or strong enough and needs to be strengthened. Therefore, while I support in principle the ideas put forward by my noble friend Lady Masham, I think that for the present we will have to be satisfied with voluntary registration, which should be strengthened by whatever mechanism can be introduced.

[Baroness Barker]

My Lords, I have a great deal of sympathy with what the noble Lord, Lord Walton, has said. If noble Lords look at A Vision for Adult Social Care, a document published by the Government last year, they will see that the principles underpinning health and social care have been set out perhaps more clearly than they have been for some considerable time. I do not think the problem is that the principles are not there or are not known; it is that the training that brings those principles to life for a practitioner is not there.

I am torn on this issue. I listened to the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, and I was persuaded by what she said. I know of organisations which use staff who are not registered but who are exceptionally well trained and have very high standards. If the Government are reluctant—I am sure that my noble friend will again say that they are—to go down the path of full registration, I would understand that position if my noble friend would give a commitment to the development of training. That would go a long way to meeting the point to which I think all noble Lords are trying to get; namely, that the training of people involved in the direct care of those who, usually, have long-term conditions is of a high-enough quality. That is the most helpful thing that my noble friend might be able to say.

[Baroness Pitkeathley]

My Lords, in response to the two noble Lords from the Cross Benches who have spoken, the thinking of CHRE, which is to become the Professional Standards Authority, on the accreditation of voluntary registers is quite well developed. We would be very happy to participate in any meeting of the kind suggested.