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Older People's Rights (Health Care)

The hon. Gentleman has made an interesting point. There was a Human Rights Act case that trumped the ban on lifting and stated that patients should be lifted when appropriate. Obviously, with appropriate training, it is possible to lift people safely. I know from my old job as a personal injury lawyer that nurses can often be injured when lifting patients improperly, because they have not had the training or the additional staff required to lift patients safely. That is linked to the points I made earlier about how the position of staff should be strengthened when they argue against doing things that they consider to be in breach of the rights of their patients. We recommend that qualifications, accreditation and relicensing for health professionals should include a basic understanding of human rights principles, such as dignity, fairness, respect and equality. I tabled amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill to address a number of those issues and although the Minister again argued that the bodies responsible for those matters are subject to the Human Rights Act, our view is that that is not enough to ensure that human rights are taken seriously. Staff who come across incidences of neglect or carelessness should be required to report them without fear of reprisals. Doctors and nurses are under a professional duty to report poor treatment, but other staff, particularly those in care homes, are not under such a duty. On our study visit to Denmark and Sweden, we were informed of Lex Maria and Lex Sarah—laws which require all employees in residential care or hospitals to report suspected abuse. We recommend that similar provisions should be introduced in this country by using the new care standards to be introduced under the Health and Social Care Bill. Will the Minister confirm whether or not the new care standards will extend the duty to report poor treatment to all NHS staff and care home workers? It is key to ensure that older people are empowered. They are often unaware that they have human rights or that such rights are legally enforceable. At Barnet hospital, new patients are given a leaflet about what to expect from their stay, how to complain, and the discharge procedures, but not what their rights are. We call on the Department of Health, the inspectorates, and service providers to make information available in an accessible form to service users about their rights. The Government have agreed with that recommendation, so perhaps the Minister will tell us what is being done to implement it. The Government have referred to two publications—““Human Rights in Healthcare”” and ““Promoting Dignity within the Law””—which are apparently available to service users. Will the Minister tell hon. Members how many copies have been distributed to the public, and how the impact of those documents has been measured? Is he satisfied that his Department is doing enough to disseminate information about human rights to patients and carers? Older people often benefit from independent advocacy to ensure that their voices are heard. We welcome the Minister's support for independent advocates, but we are concerned about whether there are sufficient advocates to meet the needs of older people. We are also concerned about whether advocates are adequately trained in human rights principles. Effective complaints mechanisms are essential, but they only function if people know how to complain, are not afraid to do so, and are not victimised when they do. Ultimately, a system in which complaints can be made to a third party is needed. We are concerned about the proposal in the Health and Social Care Bill that states that the Care Quality Commission will not be able to investigate individual complaints in the way that the Healthcare Commission can. More emphasis will be placed on resolving complaints at a local level. Will the Minister explain how local arrangements will be sufficiently independent of the organisations that are the subject of the complaint to enable the process to be credible in the eyes of the complainants, especially those who fear victimisation from those about whom they are complaining?