Patient Safety Commissioner Bill passes final stage

An independent commissioner to advocate for the welfare and safety of healthcare patients will be appointed following the passing of a new bill.

The Scottish Government’s Patient Safety Commissioner Bill has passed its final stage unanimously. It aims to amplify the voice of patients and drive safety improvements across healthcare. 

Independent of Government and the NHS and accountable to the Scottish Parliament, the commissioner will have complete freedom to consider or investigate any issue they believe to have a significant bearing on patient safety in healthcare, and will be able to hear from patients and their families as well as gather information from healthcare providers, to inform their work.

During the stage 3 debate, MSPs rejected a Labour attempt to introduce "Milly's law" – named after a 10 year old who died from an infection contracted in Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth Hospital – which deputy leader Jackie Baillie said would deliver a duty to advocate for those affected by a major incident in a healthcare setting, and to provide affected patients with information and details that would support them.

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto argued that this would detract from the "vital function" of encouraging openness and ensuring that lessons are learned, as it  risked putting the commissioner into an adversarial role and encouraging healthcare providers to believe that they had to be defensive, as opposed to open, in their dealings with the commissioner.

Work to appoint an individual to the role will begin shortly.

After the vote Ms Minto commented: "Our responsibility is to do all we can to make sure healthcare is made as safe as possible, and that in the future, when patients and families have concerns about the safety of their care, they do not have to struggle to make their voices heard. This important bill champions the value of listening to patients and will ensure people’s voices are heard clearly and strongly throughout the healthcare system in Scotland. I am very grateful for Parliament’s unanimous support.

"The commissioner will be a powerful independent champion for everyone receiving healthcare, regardless of the setting in which it is delivered. They will work collaboratively with healthcare providers to make improvements but also hold them to account to ensure commissioner recommendations are followed, and that patients are listened to.

"We have listened very carefully to views across Holyrood as to how to strengthen the role of the Patient Safety Commissioner. The amendments accepted by the Parliament today demonstrate the collaborative approach the Government has taken."