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Health Bill

I think that the Minister was expecting me to hold forth on the previous group of amendments and I am sorry, especially after our experience in Committee, to disappoint her on this occasion, but it is Valentine’s day, after all. This is an important group of amendments. We discussed health care-acquired infections, particularly MRSA, at some length in Committee, though we were disappointed that the time available did not allow us to explore as fully as we would have liked all the clauses following those related to the ban on smoking. Nevertheless, we covered a great deal of ground. The Minister is, I expect, acutely aware of the toll that health care-acquired infections take in the United Kingdom. We reckon that about 5,000 people are killed every year and the statisticians tell us that that is more than the number killed on our roads, so it is a substantial problem. In addition, there are the people whose recovery is impeded as a result of health care-acquired infections but who, fortunately, do recover. The cost to the national health service is enormous. Some estimate that it is around £1 billion a year, so this is a big issue, and it is appropriate that Ministers should take the opportunity to try to improve matters in the course of the Health Bill.