Rosie Benneyworth, Interim Chief Executive at HSSIB, says: “There is no doubt that the publication of the 10 year plan is a crucial moment for the future of healthcare in England. This level of reform brings opportunities for meaningful and sustained improvement. There is also change ahead for HSSIB, but we will remain steadfast in our commitment to patient safety.
“We were pleased that the plan recognises us as a centre of excellence for investigations. We will continue to work with patients, families, healthcare staff and providers to ensure that safety stands robustly alongside other operational and financial priorities. Crucially, we will remain a strong, inclusive and independent voice to ensure that the message of safety is not lost.”
Over the next few years HSSIB will transition to become a discrete unit within the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Crucial to this transition is that we maintain:
- our independence to conduct impartial investigations
- our systems approach
- protected disclosure – the safe space that gives people confidence to speak to us.
Protected disclosure means that evidence from our patient safety investigations must not be shared outside HSSIB and is not admissible in regulatory or legal proceedings. Health and care staff need to feel safe to speak freely about the problems they face in delivering safe care, which protected disclosure offers them. This is fundamental to the way we work.
Further details about how we operate in the future will be shared in due course. We offer our ongoing support to our team and to our colleagues and organisations across the health and care system who are affected by the changes detailed in the plan.
Patient safety remains our top priority. During this time, our dedicated team continues to deliver high-quality, evidence-based investigations and education aimed at improving patient care and reducing harm. We are committed to putting patient safety at the heart of the NHS.
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