Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that death caused by clinical negligence in the NHS contributes to improved clinical practice.

The Government has introduced measures to support the National Health Service in England to reduce patient harm and improve the response to harmed patients. This includes a statutory duty of candour which requires all hospital trusts to tell patients if their safety has been compromised and to apologise. This is overseen by the Care Quality Commission which can take enforcement action in cases of non-compliance. We have implemented legal protections for whistle-blowers when safety concerns are raised, in addition to Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in all hospital trusts supported by a National Guardian.

We are establishing the Health Services Safety Investigations Body in 2022 as a new independent arm’s length body to conduct safety investigations into the most serious patient safety incidents in the NHS and the independent sector and embed learning. We are implementing medical examiners in the NHS to ensure that all deaths which do not involve a coroner are scrutinised by an independent medical practitioner. This aims to improve the quality and accuracy of the medical certificate for cause of death and provide bereaved families with a guaranteed voice in certifying deaths and an opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns about care.

In 2019, we published a the NHS Patient Safety Strategy which is creating a safety and learning culture in the NHS to address inequalities in patient safety. We have also established the role of a Patient Safety Commissioner to provide a champion for patients in relation to medicines and medical devices.