About Us
Delivering a culture for change
While the Patient Safety Commissioner is independent of government and the healthcare system the Commissioner’s funding is provided by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and, from 2026, via the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The PSC remains accountable to Parliament. The Office of the Patient Safety Commissioner is resourced by civil servants and maintains a working relationship with the MHRA. This helps us to influence government, offer constructive advice on policymaking, and amplify the patient voice into the health system. While we work constructively with the MHRA, we remain outside of it and are guided by the Patient Safety Commissioner’s strategic priorities.
This means the Office can focus on what matters to patients and advocate for that with the MHRA and other parts of the healthcare system. In addition, a constructive, working relationship with the MHRA helps us most effectively utilise the back-end processes the Office needs in order to function, which is important to ensure the effective use of public funds.
Prof Henrietta Hughes OBE FRCGP
Contacting the PSC
When you write to the Office of the Patient Safety Commissioner my team and I are committed to responding with empathy and compassion. While I cannot get involved in individual cases it is so important that I, and my team, hear from patients across England about their experiences of medicines and medical devices. All correspondence is read by a member of my team who will aim to respond to you in 20 working days.
I know how complicated the system can feel in England when patients want to raise a concern or a complaint. That’s why my team and I are committed to providing the best and most accurate advice we can, to help you navigate it. While we want to hear from as many people as possible, my office won’t always be the best place to provide you with support. That’s why when you write to us, we’ll do our best to help guide you to the correct part of the system to provide support to you for your concern and complaint.
About the Patient Safety Commissioner
Professor Henrietta Hughes OBE started in September 2022 as the first Patient Safety Commissioner, an independent role recommended by the report First Do No Harm.
Acting as an independent champion for patients Henrietta leads a drive to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices by ensuring that patient voices are at the heart of the design and delivery of healthcare in England.
A practising GP and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Medicine, University of Greater Manchester, Henrietta is a member of the Health Honours Committee and the guiding group of the Women’s Health and Care Leaders Network. Henrietta was previously the National Guardian for the NHS and a Medical Director at NHS England. Henrietta has held executive and non-executive roles in the NHS and is Chair of Childhood First, a children’s charity.
Register of interests
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