The first Welsh law - since Hywel Dda nearly 1000 years ago - was made last night [Wednesday, 09 July], when the Queen approved the NHS Redress Measure that will give patients fairer and more equal access to compensation.
The Measure, which is the first ever bi-lingual law to be passed by British legislature, will allow Welsh Ministers to make regulations about the handling of certain clinical negligence claims without people needing to take legal action. It forms part of a package of reforms that will be introduced in the NHS in Wales to improve the way in which issues are dealt with. Emphasis will be put on proper investigation and fair redress, ranging from providing apologies, remedial treatment or financial compensation if that is appropriate. In time, the Measure may be applied to all sectors of the health service in Wales.
Labour’s Health Minister Edwina Hart said “This is a historic day for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government. I am proud that the first Welsh law passed in 1000 years is one concerning the NHS, a service which is a huge part of all of our lives. Every year in Wales, thousands of patients receive high-quality, safe and effective treatment and are completely satisfied with the care they received. However, there will be instances where things do not go as well as we would wish, despite best efforts and procedures to minimise risk.”
“This important piece of legislation will build on our efforts to continually improve the care for patients and learn from any mistakes. It will establish better access, improved processes and fairer outcomes for users of NHS services. This aims to ensure a more effective use of resources for the NHS and ultimately be fairer on patients and the NHS itself.”
In what is a historic day for Health and Social Services in Wales the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, was also able to confirm that the Legislative Competence Order (LCO) in the area of charging for non-residential social care has also received Royal approval. The LCO, which has already been approved by the Assembly and both Houses of Parliament, will give the Assembly the power to pass measures that will introduce a fairer and more consistent approach to the way in which local authorities charge service users for non-residential social care.
Local authorities in Wales currently have a wide discretion as to how much to charge for home care and other non-residential social services and this has resulted in significant variations in charging policies for similar services across Wales.
