PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1093W
Written Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Written Answers
1094W
(5) whether the banning of confidentiality clauses
from severance agreements in the NHS will apply in
cases in which the £20,000 threshold for referral to his
Department is not met. [150235]
Dr Poulter: The coalition Government has been
consistently clear that nothing within a contract of
employment or compromise agreement should prevent
an individual from speaking out about issues such as
patient care and safety, or anything else that could be in
the wider public interest in accordance with the Public
Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
The Department has not banned confidentiality clauses
per se. Compromise agreements, which include appropriately
drafted confidentiality clauses, can be a legitimate
mechanism for protecting the interests of both employer
and employee as long as nothing in the agreement seeks
to prevent, or has the effect of preventing, individuals
from speaking out in the public interest.
Although the use and specific content of a compromise
agreement is a matter for the relevant employer and is
confidential to the parties concerned, some NHS employers
have used such agreements that have not been as clear
on the issue of speaking out in the public interest as
they should be. This has resulted in some staff who have
felt ’gagged’ and therefore worried that they would not
be allowed to speak out about their concerns after they
have signed the agreement and left their employment.
HM Treasury do not sign off ’compromise agreements’
neither does the Department of Health. The Department
and Treasury do not see the content of compromise
agreements or the confidentiality clauses they may contain.
The Department and the Treasury review the business
cases that are put forward by employers in support of
making a special severance payment. The Department
will not support settlements, regardless of the amount
concerned, where making such a payment is not in the
public interest. This includes any case which may involve
a potential whistleblowing issue.
In future, the Government will require that where
confidentiality clauses are used in compromise agreements
that they include an explicit clause that makes it clear
beyond doubt to the individual concerned that nothing
in the agreement will prevent them from speaking out
on issues in the public interest as covered by the Public
Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA).
Former NHS employees who feel they may be subject
to a confidentiality ″gagging″ clause are protected under
PIDA. Any clause that is in contravention of the PIDA
regulations are void. Former employees are encouraged
to initially seek professional support and advice on
their particular case from the whistleblowing helpline.
In parallel, the Department is considering how it may
further communicate with employers on the issue of
former employees.
NHS: Interpreters
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for
Health on how many occasions interpreters have been
required for the purposes of treating (a) NHS patients,
(b) emergency admissions, (c) maternity cases, (d)
in-patient admissions and (e) out-patients in (i) Brigg
and Goole constituency and (ii) Yorkshire and the
Humber in each of the last five years. [150160]
Norman Lamb: This information is not collected
centrally. The provision of interpretation and translation
services by national health service bodies is a matter for
local determination.
NHS: Managers
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what measures are in place to remove from post
NHS managers (a) that fail to meet performance
targets, (b) have overseen healthcare services which put
patients’ lives at risk and (c) have overseen financial
mismanagement of a NHS organisation. [149567]
(2) what measures are in place to prevent NHS
managers (a) that fail to meet performance targets, (b)
have overseen healthcare services which put patients’
lives at risk and (c) have overseen financial
mismanagement of a NHS organisation from gaining
further employment in the NHS; and if he will consider
introducing a baring scheme to prohibit such
individuals from working in NHS management;
[149568]
(3) what steps he is taking to introduce new measures
to (a) remove failing NHS managers, (b) monitor the
performance of NHS managers, (c) monitor the
financial management of NHS managers and (d) issue
sanctions against failing NHS managers. [149569]
Dr Poulter: All those working for the national health
service have personal responsibility for the quality of
care they provide, with good leadership critical to ensuring
that patients receive excellent care. The vast majority of
NHS leaders and managers work tirelessly to get the
best possible care for the people they serve.
However, the NHS does have systems in place to deal
with the small number of managers who fail to meet the
appropriate safety, quality, performance or financial
standards.
Employers are required to incorporate the Code of
Conduct for NHS Managers in the employment contracts
of chief executives and other directors. NHS managers
are personally responsible for meeting the requirements
of their employment contracts. Local governance systems
are in place to hold NHS managers to account for the
terms of their job role. If there are failures to meet the
standards set, it is for the employer to decide what
actions to take, including the possibility of additional
training and support, or termination of contract.
In support of this, Monitor, the NHS Trust Development
Authority and Care Quality Commission work together
to provide independent regulatory oversight of the safety,
quality, performance and financial management of NHS
providers in England.
Monitor has and will continue to have intervention
powers in relation to NHS foundation trusts and can
remove directors from the board in cases of significant
financial or service underperformance.
The Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation
Trust Public Inquiry provides graphic illustrations of
lessons that can be learned from failure of individuals,
the employing trust and system regulators to put patients
first. It recommends a number of actions relating to
NHS managers, including a mechanism for barring
failing managers. These are being considered as part of
the Government’s response, which will be published shortly.