Responding to new safety measures announced in the Health and Care Bill, including the establishment of the Health Service Safety Investigation Body (HSSIB) and the role of Medical Examiners in law, Dawn Hodgkins, Director of Regulation at the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, said:

“With independent healthcare providers delivering care to millions of patients every year, IHPN have long been calling for a “whole systems” approach to patient safety and quality and we welcome the measures set out in the new Health and Care Bill which will help improve the safety of care delivered to all patients across the country.

“The establishment of a new Health Service Safety Investigation Body’s (HSSIB) will play a key role in identifying safety risks and encouraging a culture of learning across the healthcare system. IHPN have long advocated for the Body’s remit to cover independent healthcare and we are pleased that this is explicitly set out in the Bill,  enabling all patients, regardless of how they access their healthcare, to benefit from this shared system learning.

“Equally, the rollout of Medical Examiners, who will investigate deaths taking place In both NHS and independent healthcare providers,  should play a significant role in supporting bereaved families and provide an opportunity for them to raise concerns about the care and treatment provided. The examiner system will also ensure any issues with the quality of care can be identified and acted on and will provide an opportunity to further improve patient safety across the entire healthcare system.”