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‘If we listen to patients, they will give us the route map to success.  We will have better patient safety, improved staff retention and better finances…’

Imagine a world where we get the information about medicines and medical devised that we need to make the right choices about our healthcare.  And those that deliver care to us get the right information to share with us so that we give truly informed consent. 

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My role as Patient Safety Commissioner is to promote the safety of patients in relation to medicines and medical devices and to promote the importance of listening to the views and experience of patients and the public.  But we shouldn’t need a new statutory role to tell us this – the whole system should be listening continuously to patients and acting on their feedback.

The Cumberlege report, First Do No Harm, revealed that patients did not feel heard, did not have the information needed to make the right decision about their care, could not trust the answers or that the system prioritised their and their families safety.

First Do No Harm, the independent review of the safety of medicines and medical devices led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, found that patients’ voices were ignored, and that the health system did not listen and act, but was defensive, dismissive, and disjointed. As the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner I have been listening to patients and patient safety experts to understand what needs to improve.