Poorly thought through legislation creates tensions with other legislation. These points have yet to be tested in the Courts. Some causes for concern. The proposed extension to the Secretary of State's powers should be seen in the context of other current developments affecting primary care. For example, The NHS Plan, and the Secretary of State's statement to the House of Commons, while promising respect for patient confidentiality, promise increased openness in the provision of information about the performance of health services.
Patients increasingly expect to exercise their right to consent.
Such expectations were recently endorsed by the Secretary of State, in statements about the removal and storage of human tissue. Faced with these trends and pressures, Clause 59 offers a centralist and paternalistic solution which is likely to seriously damage relations between clinicians and their patients, as well as clinicians and those seeking to research and report healthcare. The Secretary of State will be given a wide discretion to intervene. Before framing regulations, he is only obliged to consult 'as he considers appropriate. We believe patients deserve legislation that has been brought forward in a much more careful and judicious way.