Patient Safety Commissioner: consultation analysis

Chapter 1: Introduction

On 8 July 2020 First Do No Harm: The Report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (the Cumberlege Review) was published. The review examined how the healthcare system in England responds to reports about harmful side effects from medicines and medical devices, and made recommendations on how to respond to concerns more quickly and effectively in the future.

Although the report focussed on England, the issues covered within it relate to all four of the UK nations, and people from Scotland also gave evidence to the review. The Scottish Government, therefore, accepted all of the recommendations within the report, and agreed to implement them, where it is within devolved competence to do so.

A key recommendation within the report is:

Recommendation 2: The appointment of a Patient Safety Commissioner who would be an independent public leader with a statutory responsibility. The Commissioner would champion the value of listening to patients and promoting users' perspectives in seeking improvements to patient safety around the use of medicines and medical devices.

Scottish Ministers committed, in Protecting Scotland, Renewing Scotland: The Government's Programme for Scotland 2020-2021, to establishing the role of a PSC. This consultation sought the views of the public and other interested parties on what that role should look like; who the PSC should report to; and how the role should function.