Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Bill

Dan Poulter Excerpts

Friday 9th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr Reed) for tabling new clause 1, which allows us to debate the issue. I am most grateful to him for his full and constructive engagement with the Bill. A consultation on making the role of the national data guardian statutory is extremely important, and I fully appreciate the reasons why he has tabled the new clause.

I welcome the appointment last November of Dame Fiona Caldicott as the first national data guardian. Her extensive knowledge and experience in this area will ensure strong and visible leadership. She, together with her panel, will act as a source of clear authoritative advice and guidance across the health and care system. The Secretary of State said at the time of her appointment:

“We need to be as determined to guarantee personal data is protected as we are enthusiastic to reap the benefits of sharing it. Dame Fiona will oversee the safe use of people’s personal health and care information and hold organisations to account if there is any cause for concern, ensuring public confidence.”

Let me make it quite clear that the clauses on the duty to share information are not about care.data, which is another issue for another time. My Bill is about data being shared only with those who are directly responsible for an individual’s care for the purposes of that care. Its remit is very restrictive.

A consultation should, as the new clause provides, include reference to

“oversight of data sharing as set out in”

the Bill. Understandably, concerns have been raised that a duty to share information might somehow dilute the vital principle of patient confidentiality, which is protected by statute and common law. As I have explained before, I do not believe it will do so.

The seventh of the revised Caldicott principles, as set out in “The Information Governance Review”, is that

“The duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality. Health and social care professionals should have the confidence to share information in the best interests of their patients within the framework set out by these principles.”

As was set out on Second Reading and in Committee, clause 3 introduces a duty to share information. That must be done when it is in the person’s best interests and it is

“likely to facilitate the provision to the individual of health services or adult social care”.

Having a statutory duty to share information for the benefit of a person’s care, within the clear limits set out in the Bill, would, alongside the existing strong statutory protection for confidentiality, provide health and social care professionals with the confidence to which Dame Fiona’s report refers.

The consultation on the national data guardian will provide the opportunity to set out how oversight would work for the duty introduced by the Bill, should it become law, under the legislation that will make the role of the NDG statutory. If the consultation cannot be established through a clause in the Bill, which I understand may be the case due to the timing of the general election—the Minister will go into that, I believe—it needs to happen at the earliest possible opportunity.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

The new clause relates to clauses 2, 3 and 4. Clause 2 will place a duty on providers and commissioners of publicly funded health and adult social care to use a consistent identifier in a person’s health and care records and correspondence. The consistent identifier must be specified in regulations, and the Government’s intention is that the NHS number will be specified. It is important to note, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) outlined, that the duty to use the NHS number would apply only in the direct provision of care and when it was in the individual’s best interests. As he articulately said, this matter is very different from the issues with care.data that we have discussed. There is a duty on professionals to share information in the best interests of patients in respect of the provision of direct care.

Clause 3 will introduce a duty to share information that is held by providers and commissioners when it is in an individual’s best interests and will support their direct care and treatment. As we discussed in Committee, that is an essential part of the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality care.

Clause 4 defines health or adult social care commissioners or providers. Its effect will be that the duties imposed by clauses 2 and 3 will apply only to relevant health or adult social care commissioners or providers. They are defined as public bodies exercising health or adult social care in England and any person, other than an employee, who provides such services or care under arrangements within a public body.

I welcome the constructive support of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr Reed), throughout the passage of the Bill. There has been a great deal of consensus, and rightly so. I am grateful for his support for the role of the national data guardian. As was discussed in Committee, the Government are committed to consulting on the role of the national data guardian and the Secretary of State has given his unequivocal support to the consultation. We believe that having a data guardian is an important additional safeguard in the system.

As the House will be aware, Dame Fiona Caldicott has been appointed as the first national data guardian and has already built up significant credibility in her role of challenging and scrutinising the way in which information is shared across the health and social care system. Strengthening and broadening the role of the national data guardian will further enhance the confidence of patients and the public that there is a strong voice for their rights and protections in this area.

Even without a legislative basis, Dame Fiona’s panel, which was previously known as the independent information governance oversight panel, has built its reputation as an effective and authoritative voice. It has helped to ensure that data and information are shared in a way that allows the health and care system to access what it needs to improve outcomes for patients, while protecting against their inappropriate use. Having made significant progress, there is now clear agreement across the House that it is important to embed the national data guardian in the health and care system as a powerful independent voice, and to put that role on a statutory footing.

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[Mr Jamie Reed]

I listened closely to the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash). As I said earlier today, and on Second Reading, in Committee and throughout the passage of the Bill that became the Care Act 2014, patient safety is our guiding principle, and we are responsible for ensuring that all that we do is intended to improve it. The purpose of NHS regulation should always be to improve safety and achieve better patient outcomes. I therefore strongly sympathise with the principle of the new clauses. However, I should be grateful if the hon. Member for Stone explained why he does not agree with the hon. Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) that the duties for which they provide are already covered by the Bill and by other legislation.

A little over 12 months ago, I was a member of the Committee that scrutinised the clause in the Care Act that amended the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which new clause 2 seeks in turn to amend. The new clause adds the following words:

“The assessment of the performance of a registered service provider is to be by reference to whatever indicators of quality the Commission devises, but must include indicators of the safety of health and social care services.”

That is sound in principle, but it seems to me that it would remove from the CQC the flexibility that allows it to exercise its own judgment. Existing legislation gives the CQC a duty to describe and justify its indicators, and to consult on them before carrying out inspections. As the hon. Gentleman said, the Care Act also gives it a power to amend and revise those indicators.

Section 3 of the 2008 Act states:

“The main objective of the Commission in performing its functions is to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of people who use health and social care services.”

Will the hon. Gentleman explain why he thinks his new clause is needed on top of that, and in combination with the CQC’s duty to consult on the indicators that it uses to assess services? If we support the principle of independent inspection, we need to guard against making unnecessary changes to legislation that could deter the CQC from performing its central role of ensuring the safety of the services that is inspects.

New clause 2 requires the CQC to

“include indicators of the safety of health and social care services.”

We all want the best and most effective legislation to be passed, but I fear that the new clause could be open to significant misinterpretation. The section of the 2008 Act to which the new clause relates concerns CQC reviews of the performance of service providers. The CQC will inspect a number of different services, including services that do not directly involve social care. The new clause, however, could require it to include indicators of safety in social care services regardless of whether the service concerned involves social care. If that is the hon. Gentleman’s intention, will he explain why he believes the provision to be necessary? Furthermore, new clause 2 refers to “social care services”, whereas new clause 3 refers to “adult social care services”. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will be able to explain what appears to be a discrepancy.

As Labour Members have made clear, we believe that patient safety is paramount in our NHS, that effective regulation is key to securing it, and that producing such regulation is our role in the House. I should be grateful if the hon. Gentleman explained why he believes that his new clause is essential to more effective regulation, given that—as the hon. Member for Stafford has pointed out—it seems merely to repeat existing provisions.

[Dr Poulter]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) for tabling these new clauses and I commend him on his tireless work in taking forward the interests of his constituents around the terrible events that occurred at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and the subsequent steps he has been involved with all the way through to improve standards of hospital care provided to the people of Stone and the surrounding areas. He is also right to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy), who has worked tirelessly not just on this Bill, but as an advocate for his constituents and local patients. He is a great credit to the people of Stafford and, party politics aside, being a Member of Parliament is about public service, and he embodies the very best of that in the work he has done in bringing forward this Bill and in his advocacy of the needs of his local patients.

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[Mr Jamie Reed]

Thank you for calling me to speak, Madam Deputy Speaker, and happy new year.

I listened closely to the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) introducing his new clause 4 and to the other hon. Members who have spoken on it. They are correct to say that good communication between professionals and patients is crucial for ensuring positive health outcomes. I would go so far as to say that it is critical. One of the issues that we need to address in this regard is the needs of patients with sensory impairments, such as deafness and blindness. That is not covered by the new clause and it has no regard for nationality or language skills.

In April 2010 the Health Committee conducted an inquiry called “The use of overseas doctors in providing out-of-hours services” following the tragic death, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, of David Gray in 2008 after receiving medical treatment from Dr Ubani from Germany, who was working his first shift as an out-of-hours doctor in the United Kingdom. The report recommended that the Government make the necessary changes

“to enable the GMC to test the clinical competence of doctors and undertake systematic testing of language skills so that everything possible is done to lessen . . . the risks of employing another unsuitably trained . . . doctor in out-of-hours services.”

Following this case, I understand that the Government have, with the support of Labour, worked to strengthen the powers of the General Medical Council in this regard. We welcome that.

Notwithstanding all this, I am unsure what the hon. Gentleman is trying to achieve. Given the existing practice of the GMC, the new clause, although agreeable in principle, is superfluous. The GMC conducts English language assessments already, and failure to undertake an assessment or failing such an assessment can result in fitness to practise hearings, which can lead to a loss of registration to practise.

These assessments can be triggered in a number of ways. A single complaint from a patient, a health professional or another party can result in an assessment, as can prescribing errors and poor record keeping. Overseas medical regulatory authorities can prompt an English language assessment if they believe that a doctor does not have sufficient knowledge to treat patients in an English-speaking context. Indeed, the GMC website tells international doctors that

“you must satisfy us you have the necessary knowledge of English to get registration with a licence to practise”.

So the GMC needs to be satisfied before a licence to practise is granted. These tests relate to all forms of communication—speaking, reading, writing and listening. It is right that the GMC continues to be vigilant in its oversight of this requirement. Good communication is central to patient safety, and the GMC does a great deal to ensure that those practising in the NHS have the skills required to do so safely.

I want to place on record an acknowledgement of the contribution made to our national health service, which I know nobody doubts, by the many overseas health care workers without whom the NHS would not be able to cope, including in my constituency. On Second Reading of the National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr Skinner) commented that he had received a “United Nations heart by-pass” operation, by which he meant that people from all over the world had done a great deal for the health of this country, and we should all be thankful for that.

We have touched briefly on unintended consequences. Some politicians have recently sought outside the House to manipulate and inflame the issue with a view to creating an imaginary bygone Britain in the public consciousness as part of a long-standing flight from reality based on bizarre notions such as “gay rain”, the enforced segregation of breastfeeding mothers from public spaces and the right to use racist language. We must all be careful not to legitimise this abhorrent, detached, cultish behaviour or the perverted mindset which underpins it.

[Dr Poulter]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) for tabling the new clause. We all agree that it is vital that doctors can speak and communicate effectively in English. My hon. Friends the Members for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) and for Shipley (Philip Davies) made a number of important points.

I hope I can bring some reassurance to hon. Members that there are already in place, thanks to changes introduced by this Government, a number of strong tests for language competency and the ability to communicate. It is not good enough for a medical professional to be able to speak English; it is important in all aspects of health care that we can communicate effectively with our patients. The ability not just of doctors from overseas when they work in and contribute to the NHS, but of doctors who have been working here for many years to communicate effectively is at the heart of good medicine. There are a number of steps that this Government have taken to strengthen the tests in place.

To echo the comments of the shadow Minister, I have worked alongside many doctors and many health care professionals from all over the world who have come here to contribute to our NHS and to the care of patients. Many of those doctors have been outstanding and continue to look after patients today as we debate the new clause. One of the strengths of our diverse NHS is that because we have a world-class health service, doctors want to come here and contribute as part of their careers, often for a short period, before they return to New Zealand, Australia or the many other countries from which they have come. The diversity of our NHS and the fact that we attract doctors—often the very best doctors—from all over the world is a great strength, but it is vital that all doctors can both speak English and communicate effectively in English. That is not controversial, and it is what good patient care is all about.

Clause 5 and the schedule will introduce a consistent overarching objective for the Professional Standards Authority and professional regulators—the General Dental Council, the General Optical Council, the General Osteopathic Council, the General Chiropractic Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Health and Care Professions Council and the General Pharmaceutical Council—to ensure that public protection is at the heart of what they do.

The clause introduces the term “well-being” into the objectives of a number of these regulators. This has been a long-standing and established feature of the legislation for the General Pharmaceutical Council, the Health and Care Professions Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The term encompasses those aspects of a health care professional’s role that may have an impact on individuals but may not directly impact on their health or safety: dignity, compassion and respect are all vital aspects of delivering high-quality care. This was highlighted most starkly in the Francis inquiry report of February 2013, which put into focus the terrible and serious failings in the care provided at the former Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which was the basis on which my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) introduced the Bill.

One specific area where real changes in the protection of patients are being made relates to the strengthening of arrangements to ensure that all health care workers have sufficient knowledge of English and the ability to communicate effectively with patients in English before being allowed to work in the UK. The General Medical Council has always been able to check the language skills of doctors from outside the European Union who want to practise medicine in the UK. It does this through the international English language testing system, which covers all four language skills—listening, reading, writing and speaking—and it is widely accepted by employers, the other health care regulators and professional bodies as a means of assessing proficiency in English in a professional environment. The GMC continually assesses the effectiveness of this test to ensure its robustness.

In addition to this test of their language skills, the GMC conducts a professional and linguistic assessments board exam—often called the PLAB exam—for doctors from outside Europe. This tests their reactions to a number of clinical scenarios and their ability to apply their clinical knowledge to the treatment of patients and is the main route by which international medical graduates demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to practise medicine in the UK.

However, following the death of a patient, David Gray, and the tragic circumstances surrounding that death in 2008 after he received medical treatment by Dr Ubani, a German national, where language skills were a strong component in the incident, a House of Commons Health Committee report recommended that the Government change the law to allow the GMC to extend language tests to doctors within the European economic area, providing consistency in how doctors from both within and outside the EEA are treated with regard to assessing their language skills, before being allowed to practise medicine in the UK.

The Government made a commitment in the 2010 coalition agreement, which the shadow Minister has mentioned, to stop foreign health care professionals working in the NHS unless they have passed robust language tests. We have fulfilled that commitment in respect of doctors, and we are now putting in place additional measures, through section 60 orders, to introduce language testing for other health care workers.

[Sir William Cash]

Is the Minister satisfied that the measure complies with European law and that we do not need a notwithstanding arrangement? He may hope that it will not fall foul of the European Court of Justice, but has he taken advice on that? If not, will he do so after we have finished our proceedings?

[Dr Poulter]

I hope I can reassure my hon. Friend on that. I am absolutely sure that our measures are consistent with European law and I took advice consistently on that, although there was a difference of opinion in how the previous Government and this Government interpreted advice. I work very closely with the General Medical Council, which receives its own independent advice, and I worked with its former chair, Sir Peter Rubin, who has been a tireless campaigner for the measure. Together with the GMC, we introduced measures that are consistent with European law and mean that we are able to test the language competency of EU doctors. I am sure that there is consistency: a similar process is in place in Bavaria in Germany. Although there can be free movement of qualified health care professionals to different member states—their skills can benefit our NHS—it is also important that they can perform a doctor’s functions properly, and it is not possible for them to do that if they cannot speak English and communicate effectively with patients. Our measures are consistent with the advice I have received and, indeed, with the views of the GMC. This is the right thing to do and I am pleased that the coalition Government have put in place language tests.

Last April, I led through this House changes to the Medical Act 1983 to strengthen the arrangements to ensure that all doctors, including those from within the European economic area, must have sufficient knowledge of English before being able to work and look after patients in the UK.

I hope my hon. Friend will agree that patients are much better protected by the new powers the Government have given to the GMC. When the GMC implemented language checks for European doctors in June 2014, it also raised the pass mark for its language tests. The GMC has vigorously used the powers given to it by the Government. Since the Government changed the legislation last April to strengthen the language test arrangements, 128 EEA doctors have been refused a licence to practise medicine in the UK owing to inadequate language skills. That shows that the measure is working to protect patients in the UK from EU doctors who cannot speak English effectively. It is having an effect—it is biting—and making sure that patients are being properly protected. I will write to hon. Members to outline the measure further, and I will perhaps ask the GMC to contribute to that letter. The measure was long overdue and I am proud that we introduced it. It is protecting patients in the UK from doctors who cannot communicate effectively.

As part of a belt-and-braces approach to ensure that all doctors looking after patients can speak a good standard of English and communicate effectively with them, in 2013 responsible officers in England—senior doctors in health care organisations who oversee the employment of other doctors—were given additional statutory responsibility for ensuring that doctors

“have sufficient knowledge of English language necessary for the work to be performed in a safe and competent manner”.

In addition, on medical revalidation, which was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley, the Government have taken the important step of ensuring that all doctors must show evidence of competency on a maximum of a five-yearly basis in order to maintain their medical licence. That has improved checks on all aspects of a doctor’s work, including how well they work as part of a multidisciplinary team, how well they communicate with their patients and whether they are keeping up to date with medical practice.

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[Philip Davies]

I welcome what the Minister has said and commend him for that initiative. In order for us to be able to see how robust the revalidation process is, can he tell us how many people have been through it and how many have failed as a result?

[Dr Poulter]

The revalidation process is ongoing and is reviewing everybody on the medical register. It is very easy to revalidate someone who is training to be a specialist as a surgeon or in some other hospital position, because they are assessed annually as part of their specialist training. The revalidation process for the consultant and general practice work force—which kicked off as a five-year programme—is ongoing. Some people have volunteered to come off the medical register, including retired doctors who have not practised for some time. I would be happy to write to my hon. Friend to update him on the revalidation process. It will not be completed for another couple of years, but once we have gone through the first cycle of revalidation the process will be easily repeated. I stress that doctors will be revalidated on a maximum of a five-yearly basis. It is possible for the GMC to seek reassurance with regard to certain specialties by requesting more regular competency tests as part of the annual appraisals.

The revalidation process is an important new power that is being implemented effectively. We need to keep it under review because it is important that all doctors, regardless of the proposed new clause on language testing, are competent, keep up to date with medical practice, able to communicate effectively and empathetically with their patients, and work as part of a multidisciplinary team for the benefit of patients. That applies to general practitioners, hospital specialists and those working in mental and physical health. It is an important step for which the GMC has been asking for many years and in which other health care professions are taking an interest. The Nursing and Midwifery Council is considering revalidating nurses in a similar way in future. It is a welcome measure that will help protect patients and the public. It is making good progress and I will write to my hon. Friend with further details in due course.

Medical revalidation is the process by which the GMC evaluates whether doctors can keep their licence to practise in the UK. In addition, a doctor wanting to work in general practice in the UK must also be on the national medical performers list, which is managed by NHS England. To be included on the list, the doctor must hold a licence to practise from the GMC and, as a consequence of the revalidation programme, he or she must have effective communication skills.

As I outlined earlier, the key step to improving checks on language competency for EEA doctors was the Medical Act 1983 (Amendment) (Knowledge of English) Order 2014, which made changes to the Medical Act 1983. My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley will be pleased to hear that the title of the order refers to English. After all, the General Medical Council regulates doctors on their ability to speak primarily that language, and I hope that that reassures him.

The order gave the General Medical Council the power to refuse a licence to practise to a medical practitioner from within the EU who is unable to demonstrate the necessary knowledge of English. It created a new fitness to practise category of impairment relating to language competence to strengthen the General Medical Council’s ability to take fitness to practise action where concerns are identified.

For example, if I, as a doctor, worked with a doctor about whose language competency I had concerns, or if a doctor was not able to communicate effectively in their day-to-day work, I, fellow health care workers and patients could report the doctor to the GMC, which—in addition to the existing initial point-of-entry language testing powers and the revalidation process—now has new powers to take action specifically in relation to such language concerns. That is another important measure that the Government have introduced to strengthen the GMC’s powers on language testing.

The change enables the GMC to require evidence of English language capability as part of the licensing process in cases where language concerns are identified during registration. Just as doctors from outside the European economic area can be tested on their language competency, the same competency tests now apply to doctors coming to work in the UK from within the European economic area, thanks to the new regulations. We hope that the wrongs identified following the dreadful Daniel Ubani case and the tragic death of David Gray have now been righted through very strong legislation to ensure the competency and ability to communicate in English of all doctors coming to work in the United Kingdom. As I have outlined, additional measures are now in place to enable the GMC to take action if concerns are raised during the ongoing medical practice of any doctor about their ability to speak English and to communicate effectively with their patients.

The process for determining whether a person has the necessary knowledge of English is set out in the General Medical Council (Licence to Practise and Revalidation) Regulations Order of Council 2012. The GMC has published guidance setting out the evidence required to demonstrate that a person has the necessary knowledge of English. With regard to the fitness to practise changes that have been introduced, a new category of impairment relating to English language capability has been created, which allows the General Medical Council to request that a doctor about whom concerns have been raised undertakes an assessment of their knowledge of English during a fitness to practise investigation.

The changes have hugely strengthened the General Medical Council’s ability to take fitness to practise action where concerns about language competence are identified in relation to doctors already practising in the UK. We are in the process of bringing in similar powers for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, the General Pharmaceutical Council and the General Dental Council to ensure that the health care professionals they regulate—nurses, midwives, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, dentists and dental care professionals—will also have appropriate language skills for the roles that they perform. The consultation on our proposed legislative changes for those four regulators closed on 15 December, and we will publish the outcome shortly with a view to immediate legislation.

I want to pick up the good point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset about the need for primary legislation. I hope that he is reassured that the existing legislation, and the ability to bring in regulations underpinning that through section 60 orders underpinning the Medical Act 1983 and other Acts, provides the ability to bring in strong regulations to protect patients and the public in respect of language competency. The Government have done exactly that. There will be future opportunities to legislate in the form of a Law Commission Bill, which would make it possible to neaten up the already very robust and strong regulation on language testing that we have introduced. I am sure that we will consider doing so at the first opportunity.

I hope that such measures will reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Stone. Thanks to this Government, strong laws have been passed, and very strict new rules are now in place to ensure that doctors practising medicine in the UK can do so only if they can communicate with patients using a high standard of written and spoken English. With that reassurance, I hope that he will withdraw his new clause.

[Sir William Cash]

I have listened to the Minister with great care and interest on the question of language skills. Despite his comprehensive description of the measures brought in, I feel that one or two areas might yet be usefully considered in the other place. I would be extremely glad if somebody raised them, just to test those measures further. This is the first time that we have heard such an excellent and comprehensive analysis on the Floor of the House in relation to a Bill of such importance. We are talking about situations in which there should be zero harm, so we do not want any doubts on the question of English language skills. In practice, I am prepared to withdraw the new clause, with the proviso that the matter should be looked at again in the other place at a future date. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the clause.

Clause, by leave, withdrawn.

Third Reading

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[Dr Poulter]

We have had a productive debate, and I thank hon. Members on both sides of the House for their contributions. I put on record my appreciation for the consensual way that the Bill has been approached by all parties, and I thank the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr Reed) for his constructive attitude. Few private Members’ Bills make it beyond Second Reading, and there is determination across the House to improve patient safety. I hope we can get the Bill on to the statute book as soon as possible.

I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) who, with tireless effort, is doing his best to ensure that the terrible experiences at his local hospital never happen again. The Government have thrown their full support behind this important Bill, which will do much to improve the safety of patients and protect the public. I also commend my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) on his dedication to raising some of the issues that led to the Francis inquiry and to this Bill, and for his tireless advocacy on behalf of his constituents in Stone and its surrounding areas.

We would not be where we are with this Bill without my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford. All MPs can learn from his example of outstanding public service and putting the interests of his constituents and local patients first. I congratulate him on his dedication and hard work on the Bill. I also thank my officials in the Department of Health, the Clerks of the House, and everybody who has contributed and put a lot of work into the Bill. It is rare for a Bill to get past Second Reading, and a lot of work has been done. I thank everyone who has supported my hon. Friend’s efforts to make these important changes.

I will not dwell on the importance of the Bill because we had that debate on Second Reading, in Committee and on Report. I am sure we all agree that ensuring that the CQC is operationally independent from the Secretary of State and free from political interference is vital. Not Whitehall nor the Secretary of State, but independent, professional inspectors on the ground who understand what good care looks like must carry out hospital inspections, and the Bill will further support the independence of the CQC.

The Bill will also ensure that we improve the use of information for the purposes of direct care. In Committee we discussed the importance of joined-up care, so that a doctor who receives a vulnerable patient with dementia from a care home is better able to care for them because they have access to care records for the immediate purpose of delivering care to that patient. That saves doctors and nurses time and means they can understand their patient better, and the patient will therefore be cared for in a better way. These important measures will help health care professionals to look after their patients more effectively. As Fiona Caldicott said, there is a duty on professionals to share information for the provision of direct care. That is what the Bill is about and it will hugely benefit patients. I reiterate the Government’s commitment to consulting on the role of the national data guardian in the future.

In conclusion, the Bill is about patient care and safety, which should be at the heart of everything our NHS does. This is what everyone engaged in the delivery of health care is primarily concerned about, and that is why many people—including myself—became health care professionals. We care about patients and want to do our best for them. The Bill will do much to improve the safety of patients and protect the public. It is a welcome Bill, and patients in Stafford and across the country will be grateful to the hon. Member for Stafford for introducing it. I thank him for that and urge hon. Members across the House to give the Bill their full support.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.