Patient Safety Commissioner launches strategy for second term
The Patient Safety Commissioner for England has today published her strategy for 2026-2028, setting out an ambitious programme of work to make medicines and medical devices safer and ensure patients’ voices shape decisions across the healthcare system.
Building on the progress made during her first term, the strategy focuses on three interconnected priorities: improving safety and regulation, supporting informed patient decisions, and advancing equity, justice and patient safety leadership.
The strategy outlines practical action to address some of the most pressing patient safety challenges facing healthcare today, including strengthening safeguards around remote prescribing, improving medicines information, enhancing monitoring of medical devices and ensuring artificial intelligence is introduced safely and transparently.
It also commits to helping patients make informed decisions through better information and consent processes, increasing transparency around payments and interests in healthcare, and tackling inequalities that affect access to safe medicines and medical devices.
Alongside this work, the Commissioner will continue to press for action on historic healthcare injustices and build stronger approaches to redress, while working with partners nationally and internationally to improve patient safety.
Professor Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner for England, said:
“Patients want healthcare that is safe, transparent and designed around their needs. Building on the work from my first term, we can see that lives can be saved and harm prevented when working in partnership with patients.
“For the remainder of my second term, I will continue to amplify patient voices and focus on areas that matter to patients – from safer prescribing and better information to addressing inequalities and ensuring new technologies are introduced responsibly.
“This strategy provides a clear roadmap for action. We will continue to challenge where change is needed, work collaboratively across the system and champion the patient voice in every aspect of our work.”
The strategy has been informed by engagement with patients, healthcare professionals, policymakers and organisations across the health sector. It reflects the Commissioner’s commitment to ensuring that patient safety remains at the heart of healthcare innovation, regulation and delivery of high-quality care.