I am today informing the House of the publication of the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, chaired by Baroness Cumberlege.
I would like to thank Baroness Cumberlege for her dedication to listening to the experiences of patients and their families. She has acted with compassion and thoroughness and gone to great lengths to ensure that those who have felt unheard have had a voice. She has also been diligent in looking across the system at possible improvements.
The Government also thanks those very same patients and their families who have contributed their time and energy to the Review. We know that in some cases it has been a physical and psychological challenge to attend the meetings that the review set up.
The Review was commissioned by the Government in February 2018 and its terms of reference required it to explore how the health system responds when patients and their families raise concerns about the safety of treatments.
While the Review has progressed, the Government and the NHS has already taken a number of steps that are relevant to the issues the Review raises. However, there is always more we can do more to make the NHS systems more responsive to peoples’ concerns when they are first raised.
It is imperative for the sake of patients that we now give the recommendations from this independent review the full consideration they deserve.
I can assure you that patient safety remains a key priority for the government and we are committed to the NHS being the safest healthcare system in the world.
I will give an Oral Statement in Parliament.
A copy of the report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.