Written question asked by Iain Luke (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 January 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 February 2002. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour) on Monday, 4 February 2002 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to review the level of safety standards on wheelchair and mobility products being purchased by health authorities.

Answer: Mr. Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review the level of safety standards on wheelchair and mobility products being purchased by health authorities. [30337] Jacqui Smith: The Medical Devices Agency, (MDA), maintains a database of all incidents reported to them concerning safety or quality problems with wheelchairs. MDA regularly carry out trend analysis on the content of reports received from United Kingdom, Europe and United States of America and also on the outcomes of any subsequent investigations. If these trends reveal the need for individual manufacturers to re-design their products or improve their usage instructions, labelling, repair instructions or quality control etc manufacturers are informed and MDA monitor the situation until appropriate improvements are made. Also, if any of these trends reveal a shortcoming in an issued British standard concerning wheelchairs or a need for a new standard, the MDA work with the British Standards Institution, (BSI), to make any necessary revisions or assist with the drafting of any new standard. MDA maintain regular contact with the Purchasing and Supply Agency to ensure that they can consider any possible effects on existing or future purchase agreements.

Secondary information