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Lord Pearson of Rannoch: My Lords, my noble friend mentioned that the Government have tabled an amendment at the IGC to improve this matter. Can he give your Lordships any idea of the support that we anticipate in the IGC?
Lord Inglewood: My Lords, I understand that this is an idea which has been most favourably received.
Lord Bruce of Donington: My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the same scrutiny committee to which he referred has raised this matter before? According to the committee's report, which I hold in my hand, the position has become worse rather than better over the
past year. Will the Government please make representations--or are they submissions now?--to the European Commission that they should get a fax machine in operation so that we can have the documents here very much earlier rather than waiting for them to come, in our case, by ordinary Belgian post?
Lord Inglewood: My Lords, I fear that the noble Lord is a little old-fashioned. Our approach is to use electronic mail.
Lord Richard: My Lords, is the Minister aware that when Statements have been made in this House after European Council meetings--Statements which I have taken for the Opposition--I have continually said that people should read the communique and not merely rely on the Prime Ministerial gloss that is put upon it? Is he also aware that I do not have any difficulty whatever in obtaining a copy of the communique of a meeting which finished on the Sunday before I have to rise to speak in this House--usually on the Monday? Therefore, will he agree with me that perhaps the criticisms of my noble friend Lord Bruce of Donington--very uncharacteristically, my Lords--were perhaps somewhat overblown?
Lord Inglewood: My Lords, I am delighted to hear that at least in one respect the noble Lord finds things working most satisfactorily. I concur that it would appear to us that the strictures of the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, are a trifle--to use the noble Lord's word--overblown.
Lord Willoughby de Broke: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that far more than the communiques, to which the noble Lord, Lord Richard, referred are consistently late? The matter to which the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, referred is indeed a matter of concern. What assurance can my noble friend give that something will happen further than representations to the Commission or to the relevant authorities and we will get documents on time--I speak as a member of one of the committees--so that we can scrutinise them?
Lord Inglewood: My Lords, as I already mentioned, steps are being taken internally in government. As the Minister in my department who deals with a number of European matters, I can confirm that that is happening. At the same time, we are taking the other steps that I mentioned to ensure that those who are not under our direct control will deal with the matter more expeditiously.
Lord Tordoff: My Lords, is the Minister aware that, although what he said is accurate and successful efforts are being made to speed up the transmission of documents, there is still a serious delay in documents coming out of both the Commission and the Council before they reach this country? Further, is he aware that the recent documents on fishing quotas reached the Select Committee only two days before the Council that was due to agree them? Therefore, though matters are improving, is the Minister aware that there is still a long way to go?
Lord Inglewood: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Tordoff, for that helpful contribution. One of the advantages of dealing with these matters by electronic mail is that we can cut out the time it takes physically to communicate documents. That should, by the nature of that means of communication, infinitely improve matters.
Hospitals: Single Sex Accommodation
3.30 p.m.
Baroness Hayman asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Following the Secretary of State for Health's announcement of 27th January concerning mixed sex wards, what proportion of current National Health Service in-patients are not entitled to a choice of single sex accommodation under the Patient's Charter provisions because they were admitted as emergency patients.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege): My Lords, 42.6 per cent. of admissions are emergency admissions. We do not know how many of those were placed in mixed sex wards but believe the number to be small.
Baroness Hayman: My Lords, is it not correct that that figure is the number of emergency admissions overall rather than of in-patients? If we take away the day cases, the vast majority of patients admitted to hospital are emergencies. Last year around 4 million in-patients were admitted as emergencies as against 2 million planned admissions. Is it not correct that emergency patients have no rights whatever to choose single sex accommodation under the Patient's Charter? Therefore, is not the Secretary of State's announcement this week yet another example of cynically raising patients' expectations and claiming to be taking action without properly planning or resourcing what will need to be done to give patients dignity and privacy?
Baroness Cumberlege: My Lords, I do not want to enter into a debate on the figures. Around half of all admissions are emergencies. The action taken by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State needed to be taken. We expected health authorities and trusts to take the issue seriously when the Patient's Charter was first published. Clearly they had a whole list of priorities and this issue did not come as high on the list as we felt it should. The Secretary of State therefore took action through the NHS chief executive. The Government have a proud record on resources in the health service. There has been huge investment. We have the Prime Minister's commitment that year on year on year on year on year, for five years, extra money will go into the National Health Service. That pledge has not been matched by the Benches opposite.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon: My Lords, it would be churlish of me not to welcome the latest initiative by the Minister's right honourable friend the Secretary of State on the matter of mixed sex wards. However, can the noble Baroness give an assurance that those patients who are admitted under the emergency procedures will be transferred without delay to single sex wards? Can she further assure us that those hospitals which find it financially difficult, for various reasons, to meet the standards set out by the Secretary of State in relation to single sex and mixed sex wards will be given additional resources to enable them to do so?
Baroness Cumberlege: My Lords, we would certainly wish that once a patient has been admitted as an emergency and then goes into a normal ward--if I may so express it--that patient's choice should be respected. Over the Christmas period I had to take my father into hospital at midnight. He was placed in an emergency ward. When I asked him afterwards whether he had been in a mixed sex ward, he could not tell me. He denied that he had been in such a ward. He did not notice that there was an extremely attractive young lady in the bed next to him. However, that may be on account of his age and his eyesight.
As regards emergencies, there is not a strong issue. People just want to be dealt with. When it comes to staying longer, that is an important issue. As to resources, we would not ring-fence for this specific purpose. We give more money to the health service every year and it is for local trusts and health authorities to set their priorities.
Baroness Masham of Ilton: My Lords, is the Minister aware that many patients admitted as emergencies are elderly? Does she agree that they sometimes become extremely confused, especially at night, and clamber into each other's beds causing great embarrassment and distress?
Baroness Cumberlege: My Lords, I suspect it depends on how much energy they have and how much determination. But the noble Baroness is right. Elderly people are admitted and it is inappropriate for them to be in mixed sex wards. That is something with which we strongly agree, and that is why we are taking the action we are.
Baroness Jay of Paddington: My Lords, is the Minister aware that, since the Secretary of State made his announcement at the beginning of this week, I have received reports that health authorities are still planning new mixed sex wards? I have heard from Wiltshire where the Westbury Hospital says in a press report that it is planning to open mixed sex wards. Does not that give rise to the overall question of what powers the Government have to insist that hospitals follow their so-called instructions on the matter? Is it not, frankly, a bit of pre-election public relations designed to improve the image of the Government without doing anything for patients on the ground?
Baroness Cumberlege: My Lords, we come back to the question: what is a mixed sex ward? Those noble Lords who have recently visited newly-built hospitals will recognise that wards may consist of bays which are very private. It is appropriate to have four people of the same sex within the bay, but the collective number of bays will be called a "ward". I have not looked at the design of the hospital mentioned, but I would be surprised if that was not the format being followed. Many people with learning disabilities or who are mentally ill live during the day in a normal family atmosphere but at night have separate sleeping accommodation. That too is called a "ward". It may therefore be a question of terminology.
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