Better integration of health and social care needed to stop 'dreadful' failures exposed in Mid Staffordshire scandal

Jeremy Lefroy is calling for the introduction of a single patient identifier to ensure information is always shared between the various bodies involved in a person's care.

Introducing his Health And Social Care (Safety and Quality) Bill in the Commons, he said it aimed to eliminate or at least reduce 'avoidable harm' by putting the focus on safety and spelling out in law what is expected of staff.

There are no accurate figures for how many people die avoidably while in care of health professionals, but a recent study estimated around 12,000 people a year in hospitals alone.

Conservative Mr Lefroy added: "Our NHS using the best of medical science and skills, combined with professionalism and compassion delivers extraordinary repair, treatment and healing to the vast majority of its patients. But it can also forget that and cause harm to sick patients that is completely avoidable.

"It is that very ability which it is the intention of this bill to reduce and hopefully eliminate.

"It arises out of a determination to ensure that what happened at Stafford and indeed elsewhere could not be repeated.

"It seeks to make sure the focus on safety and quality of care we are seeing is not only maintained but strengthened and most importantly cannot be reversed.

"Of course legislation on its own will not guarantee safe and high quality care. Leadership, culture, resources are all vital elements.

"But by making clear in law what is expected of those providing healthcare, it will go a long way to doing so."

The Bill also seeks to turn the Health Secretary's power to impose requirements in relation to regulated activities into a duty.

Fiona Bruce, Conservative MP for Congleton, added: "If implemented, this has the potential to provide significant improvements to the treatment and care of patients requiring medical assistance right across this country.

"Indeed, the improvements proposed by the Bill would have an immediate and very real impact."

Responding to the Bill for Labour, shadow health minister Jamie Reed said the opposition endorsed the proposals.

Responding for the Government, which supports the Bill, health minister George Freeman said the NHS needed to develop a culture similar to that of the aviation and nuclear industries where staff are actively welcomed to come forward with issues.

It was given an unopposed second reading.