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Health and Social Care Bill

My Lords, I hope that when the Minister replies he also comments on episodes of care and where they begin and end. A situation can arise in which a patient is treated in the private sector, something goes wrong, they land in A&E and something else goes wrong. It is difficult to know whether the NHS or the original private sector provider is culpable. At the moment, the NHS is picking up and sorting out problems that have arisen when people have gone into the private sector for whatever reason. It would be helpful for the Minister to clarify this, because the NHS seems to be carrying an unfair burden of responsibility, partly because it deals reasonably and rapidly and recognises the distress that patients are in when they try to take action, and partly because it is so difficult to take action against a private sector provider, particularly as they may be disparate and there are multiple contractual layers to the problem. I will not detain the House with numerous examples, but after the debate I would be happy to discuss with the Minister some that have come to mind. This problem is of real concern and involves the interface between episodes of care and how those are clearly defined.