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Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023

Type Act of the Scottish Parliament

Publication 2023-11-07

State In force

Jurisdiction Scotland

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API

Establishment

Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland

1

(1) The office of Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland is established.

(2) Schedule 1 makes further provision about the office.

Purpose and principles

Functions

2

(1) The Commissioner’s general functions are—

(a) to advocate for systemic improvement in the safety of health care, and

(b) to promote the importance of the views of patients and other members of the public in relation to the safety of health care.

(2) In exercising those functions, the Commissioner may in particular—

(a) gather information, for example patient feedback, relating to the safety of health care,

(b) keep under review, analyse and report on information obtained,

(d) promote public awareness of safety practices in relation to health care,

(e) promote co-ordination among health care providers and public authorities with functions that relate to health care.

(3) It is not the Commissioner’s role to resolve, or facilitate the resolution of, grievances arising from past incidents; accordingly, the Commissioner has no power to—

(a) make awards, or provide any other form of redress, for harms suffered,

(b) assist individuals in seeking redress for harms suffered,

(4) Nothing in subsection (3) precludes the Commissioner from investigating past incidents in order to inform the actions that the Commissioner, and others, may take to effect systemic improvement in the safety of health care.

Principles

3

(1) The Commissioner must—

(a) have a statement of the principles that are to inform the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions, and

(b) make the latest version of the statement publicly available.

(2) The statement of principles must include the principle that the Commissioner will seek to work co-operatively with other persons where appropriate, having regard to the importance of the Commissioner’s independence.

Strategic planning

Duty to have a plan

4

(1) The Commissioner must—

(a) have a strategic plan, and

(b) make the latest version of the plan publicly available.

(2) A strategic plan is a document setting out, for the period of the plan (as defined in section 5 (2)), the Commissioner’s—

(a) strategy for involving the public, and patients in particular, in the Commissioner’s work,

(b) objectives,

(d) timetable for doing so,

(e) estimate of the costs for doing so.

(3) The strategy referred to in subsection (2)(a) must, in particular, make provision about how the Commissioner will seek to raise awareness of—

(a) the Commissioner’s role, and

(b) the ways in which the public may communicate with the Commissioner.

(4) A strategic plan may include any other information the Commissioner considers appropriate.

(5) As soon as practicable after making a strategic plan, the Commissioner is to lay a copy of it before the Scottish Parliament.

Frequency of planning

5

(1) The Commissioner—

(a) may make a new strategic plan at any time (having complied with section 7),

(b) must seek to ensure that there is no gap between the period of one plan ending and that of its successor beginning.

(2) The period of a strategic plan—

(a) must not exceed 4 years,

(b) begins on the date that the plan states it begins,

(i) the date that the plan states it ends, or

(ii) the date that the period of the plan’s successor begins.

Charter

Patient Safety Charter

6

(1) The Commissioner must—

(a) have a charter, and

(b) make the latest version of the charter publicly available.

(2) The charter is to set out what the Commissioner expects of health care providers in terms of standards and good practice.

(3) The charter may, in particular, make provision in relation to the way that health care providers engage with patients and their families.

(4) The Commissioner must take the expectations set out in the charter into account when considering a health care provider’s handling of an incident.

Consultation on principles, strategic plan and charter

Duty to consult on principles, strategic plan and charter

7

(1) Before finalising a document mentioned in subsection (3), the Commissioner—

(a) must consult on a draft of it with—

(i) the Parliamentary corporation,

(ii) the advisory group established in accordance with section 16, and

(iii) any other person the Commissioner considers appropriate having regard to the importance of the document reflecting patients’ concerns,

(b) may consult on a draft of it with any other person the Commissioner considers appropriate.

(2) In considering who it would be appropriate to consult for the purposes of subsection (1), the Commissioner is to give particular consideration to groups whose needs are, in the Commissioner’s opinion, under-represented or given insufficient weight in discourses around health care.

(3) The documents are—

(a) a statement of principles (see section 3),

(b) a strategic plan (see section 4), and

Formal investigations

Initiation of formal investigation

8

(1) A formal investigation into a health care safety issue begins when the Commissioner first makes the investigation’s terms of reference publicly available.

(2) As soon as practicable after making a formal investigation’s terms of reference publicly available, the Commissioner must take reasonable steps to bring them to the attention of any person who, in the Commissioner’s opinion, is likely to be—

(a) required under section 13 to supply information in relation to the investigation, or

(b) the addressee of a recommendation in the report produced at the conclusion of the investigation.

(3) Nothing in this section precludes the Commissioner from investigating an issue otherwise than by way of a formal investigation.

Further provision about terms of reference

9

(1) The terms of reference for a formal investigation under section 8 must—

(a) describe the issue to be investigated,

(b) identify (by name or description) any person to whom the Commissioner expects to address a recommendation in the report produced at the conclusion of the investigation,

(c) state whether the Commissioner expects to need access to individuals’ information in the course of the investigation,

(d) if the Commissioner does expect to need access to individuals’ information, state—

(i) why that is the Commissioner’s expectation, and

(ii) why the Commissioner expects to need that information in a form that does, or does not (as the case may be), allow individuals to be identified.

(2) Before finalising the terms of reference for a formal investigation, the Commissioner—

(a) must consult the advisory group established in accordance with section 16,

(b) may consult any other person that the Commissioner considers appropriate.

Investigation report

10

(1) Having concluded a formal investigation under section 8, the Commissioner must—

(a) prepare a report on the investigation, and

(b) lay a copy of it before the Scottish Parliament.

(2) The report must state—

(a) the Commissioner’s findings in relation to the issue investigated and the reasons for them, and

(b) the Commissioner’s recommendations in light of those findings.

(3) The Commissioner must give a copy of the report to any person to whom a recommendation in the report is addressed.

(4) The Commissioner may address a recommendation to a person in a report on a formal investigation whether or not—

(a) the person was identified in the investigation’s terms of reference as a person to whom the Commissioner expected to address a recommendation,

(b) the Commissioner took steps to bring the investigation’s terms of reference to the person’s attention in accordance with section 8 (2)(b).

Requirement to respond to report

11

(1) A person is subject to a requirement to respond to a recommendation in a report under section 10 if—

(a) the report states—

(i) that the recommendation is addressed to the person, and

(ii) the period within which the person’s response to the recommendation is required, and

(b) the Commissioner gives the person a copy of the report.

(2) A person complies with a requirement to respond to a recommendation by giving the Commissioner a written response to it before the end of the period within which the report states that the person’s response is required.

(3) A written response to a recommendation is a document setting out—

(a) what the person responding has done, or proposes to do, to give effect to the recommendation, and

(b) if the person does not intend to do anything to give effect to the recommendation (wholly or partly), the person’s reasons for that.

(4) The Commissioner may, in whatever manner the Commissioner considers appropriate—

(a) make publicly available (in full or in part) a person’s written response to a recommendation,

(b) publicise a person’s failure to comply with a requirement to respond to a recommendation.

Gathering and use of information

Power to require information

12

(1) The Commissioner may require a person to which subsection (4) applies to supply the Commissioner with information that—

(a) is in the person’s possession or control,

(b) may be relevant to the work of the Commissioner,

(c) is not information of a kind that the Commissioner is prohibited by subsection (3) from requiring the person to supply.

(2) A requirement under this section is imposed on a person when the Commissioner gives the person written notice specifying—

(a) the information that the person is required to supply,

(b) the way in which the person is required to supply it, and

(i) the time by which the person is to supply it, or

(ii) the period throughout which the person is to supply it and the intervals within that period at which it must be supplied.

(3) The following are the kinds of information that the Commissioner is prohibited from requiring a person to supply under this section—

(a) information that the person would be entitled to refuse to provide in proceedings in a court in Scotland,

(b) information about an individual (whether or not it is anonymised).

(4) This subsection applies to a person who is—

(a) a health care provider,

(b) a body constituted by virtue of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

(5) In this section, “information” includes unrecorded information.

Further power to require information in a formal investigation

13

(1) When carrying out a formal investigation under section 8, the Commissioner may require any person to supply information that—

(a) is in the person’s possession or control,

(b) may be relevant to the investigation, and

(2) But the Commissioner may only impose a requirement to supply information under this section if the Commissioner is satisfied that requiring the information to be supplied is proportionate to the seriousness of the issue being investigated.

(3) A requirement under this section is imposed on a person when the Commissioner gives the person written notice specifying—

(a) the information that the person is required to supply,

(b) the way in which the person is required to supply it, and

(4) The Commissioner may require a person to supply information under this section whether or not—

(a) the Commissioner stated in a formal investigation’s terms of reference that the Commissioner expected to need access to the information,

(b) the Commissioner took steps to bring the investigation’s terms of reference to the person’s attention in accordance with section 8 (2)(a).

(5) The Commissioner’s power to require a person to supply information under this section is without prejudice to the Commissioner’s power to require a person to supply information under section 12.

(6) In this section, “information” includes unrecorded information.

Failure to supply required information

14

(1) The Commissioner may take the action mentioned in subsection (3) or (4) (or both actions) where—

(a) a requirement to supply information has been imposed on a person by a written notice under section 12 or 13, and

(b) the person refuses, or fails without reasonable excuse, to supply the information in accordance with the terms of the notice.

(2) The Commissioner may take the action mentioned in subsection (4) where—

(a) a requirement to supply information has been imposed on a person by a written notice under section 12 or 13, and

(b) the Commissioner suspects the person has deliberately altered the information.

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