Written question asked by Iris Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Tuesday, 30 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 April 2004. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Monday, 19 April 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidelines are in place on the quality of private laser eye surgery.

Answer: Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are in place on the quality of private laser eye surgery. [165789] Ms Rosie Winterton: Private establishments where Class 4 laser treatment (the type used in laser eye surgery) is provided are required to be registered as independent hospitals, under the Care Standards Act 2000. As such they are required to meet national minimum standards among which is the requirement to ensure that all staff using lasers and intense pulsed light sources use them only for treatments for which they have been trained and, where appropriate, hold qualifications, and that they receive regular training. Responsibility for the registration and inspection of independent hospitals passed from the National Care Standards Commission to the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection on 1 April 2004. Independent hospitals are inspected against the national minimum standards at least once every 12 months under the terms of the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) Regulations 2004.

Secondary information