We have published our response to the report by Baroness Cumberlege, First Do No Harm - the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review.
We acknowledge the huge damage caused to patients by the medicines and medical devices examined within this review, as well as the finding by this and other reviews that patients’ voices have not been heard. We agree fully that the system must change to prevent this happening again.
We welcome the review and set out our response to its recommendations. More generally, we note that this review identified gaps in the regulatory system and the risk of patient safety concerns falling between different bodies. This mirrors the recent findings from the Paterson Report published earlier this year which highlighted the fragmented nature of the regulatory landscape; and echoes similar findings by the Francis Inquiry in earlier years.
We have sent our response to Nadine Dorries, Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety. It emphasises the need for Government to ensure that the promised reforms to professional regulation take into account the findings of this and other inquiries in seeking to promote a more coherent regulatory landscape.
You can find our response here.
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: Christine Braithwaite, Director of Standards and Policy
Email: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the Editor
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
- We assess their performance and report to Parliament. We also conduct audits and investigations and can appeal fitness to practise cases to the courts if we consider that sanctions are insufficient to protect the public and it is in the public interest.
- We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them.
- We share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and introduce new ideas to our sector. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice on issues relating to professional standards in health and social care.
- We do this to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of users of health and social care services and the public. We are an independent body, accountable to the UK Parliament.
- Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
- More information about our work and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk