Patient Safety Commissioner: consultation analysis
Analysis of responses to our consultation on creating a Patient Safety Commissioner role for Scotland, which ran from 5 March to 28 May 2021. The consultation sought the views of the public and other interested parties of what the role should be.
Chapter 6: Responses on powers of the Patient Safety Commissioner
There was 1 question in the consultation document which related to the powers of the PSC in Scotland. 80 respondents answered this question (31 organisations, 49 individuals). This was a closed question offering specific response options.
Questions 11: Do you think that the Patients Safety Commissioner role should be established in law?
| Answer | Organisations | Individuals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 27 | 43 | 70 |
| No | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Don't Know | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Not Answered | 15 | 1 | 16 |
| Total | 46 | 50 | 96 |
'It will get nowhere if it doesn't have a statutory status. Needs to be able to investigate and needs to have powers to ensure improvement'.
The majority (88%) of those who responded to this question were of the view that the PSC role should be established in law.
Organisations and individuals were in agreement on the reasons for this, including: to ensure that the PSC has the necessary powers; to protect the role and ensure independence; to provide assurance to patients; and because this is what was recommended in the Cumberlege Review.
All of those who answered no to this question were individuals and gave different reasons, including a suggestion that the PSC should not be established in law immediately but at a later stage.
One respondent was of the view that it is impossible to legislate for culture change.
Contact
Email: ConsultationPSC@gov.scot
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