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NHS Redress Bill [Lords]

The Minister makes a point with some power to it, but the Government introduced the Bill precisely because the NHS is not investigating itself in that way. It is because the matter is of critical importance, not only to the patient but to the country as a whole, that independence is needed. The police have similar status, and it is similarly important that they should conduct themselves fairly, but it has been decided that they should not investigate themselves. The Minister said at the beginning of his contribution that there will not be an independent investigation. That is the message that the Government are sending out. The Minister is telling patients who have been wronged by trusts across the country that there will be no independent investigation. The Government will realise, months or years from now, that it is a mistake to send out that signal and to destroy the good intentions that they had when they set out on this path.