Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Paragraph: 53
Require Secretary of State to detail resources for Patient Safety Commissioner's redress review
Recommendation
The focus of Patient Safety Commissioner and small team, and must remain, patient safety and harm prevention. If the additional responsibility of reviewing redress is placed on the Patient Safety Commissioner, the Secretary of State must ensure that the Commissioner and her office has access to proper independent expert advice and support. We urge the Secretary of State to make a statement detailing the Patient Safety Commissioner’s review of redress schemes for the medical interventions dealt with by the IMMDS review, and what additional resources will be made available to her to undertake it.
Government Response Summary
The government confirms the Patient Safety Commissioner will undertake a four-month review of redress schemes for sodium valproate and pelvic mesh, focusing on affected individuals' views and the case for redress. They have agreed additional resources for the Commissioner to support this work and a report will be published, though the government does not believe a new redress agency is necessary.
Paragraph Reference:
53
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Our sympathies remain with all those harmed by medical interventions, including those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. A specification of the redress work has been shared with the Patient Safety Commissioner. This work is intended to cover what form redress could take for people harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh; two of the three interventions covered in the IMMDS review. It is intended to focus on the views of those affected, improving the understanding of how many people have been affected and how, the case for redress and what form it could take. The work is expected to take around four months and the Patient Safety Commissioner will publish a report of the findings. Following receipt of this report, the Department will need to consider its findings. The Department has agreed additional resources with the Patient Safety Commissioner to support this work. The Department set out its position on introducing a redress agency in its response to the IMMDS review report in July 2021. In summary, we do not believe it is necessary to create a new agency for redress as it is already possible for the Government and others to provide redress for specific issues where that is considered necessary.