Order!

We turn now to vote on SB242, in the name of the 21st Scottish Government. The question is whether this Parliament approves the general principles of the Patients (Scotland) Bill.

Patients (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to establish the office of Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland, and for connected purposes.

Commissioner

1 Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland

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

2 Functions

(1) The Commissioner's functions are—

(a) to advocate for systematic improvement to safety in healthcare, and

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

(2) The Commissioner shall not—

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

(i) The Commissioner may, however, recommend redress, in reports of formal investigations under section 5.

(b) opine on the action that another person ought to take, or any matter outwith the functions given in subsection (1), in respect of an individual in light of a past incident.

(3) Nothing in subsection (2) 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.

Charter

3 Patient Safety Charter

(1) The Commissioner shall—

(a) maintain a Charter, and

(b) make the latest version of the Charter publicly available

(2) The Charter shall—

(a) set out what the Commissioner expects of health care providers in terms of standards and best practice. and

(b) make provision in relation to the way health care providers engage with patients and their families.

(3) The Commissioner shall take the Charter into account when considering a health care provider’s handling of an incident.

Formal investigations

4 Initiation of formal investigations

(1) The Commissioner may investigate healthcare providers.

(2) An investigation shall be considered a formal investigation should a report be issued under the conditions in section 5.

(3) 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 required to submit information, or who recommendations are addressed too.

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

(4) The Commissioner may not investigate individuals or providers if they believe an investigation would obstruct a formal police investigation.

5 Reports on formal investigations

(1) Having concluded a formal investigation, the Commissioner shall—

(a) prepare a report on the investigation, and

(b) lay this report 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) Should a person be issued recommendations in a report, they shall be required to respond within 180 days of the report's publication.

(a) The Commissioner shall publicise all responses, as well as failures to respond.

6 Power to require information

(1) The Commissioner may require a person to which 4(3) 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 (2) from requiring the person to supply.

(2) 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).

(3) The Commissioner may report the failure to report to the Court of Session.

(4) After receiving a report under subsection (3), and hearing any evidence or representations on the matter, the Court shall treat the matter as if it were a contempt of court.

Final provisions

7 Interpretation

In this Act—

“Commissioner” means the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland, and

“patient” is to be construed in accordance with the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (c. 29).

8 Commencement

This Act comes into force on the day of Royal Assent.

9 Short title

The short title of this Act is the Patients (Scotland) Act.

This Bill was written by the Most Hon /u/model-avtron, Marchioness Hebrides LT CT PC MSP MLA MS, Tòiseach na h-Alba, on behalf of the 21st Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party, having been co-sponsored by Forward. It was mostly based on the real life Patients Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act.

Opening speech

Oifigear-riaghalaidh,

I speak today in support of this bill. Patients are a key part of the healthcare process, yet their voices are often not heard in healthcare. This is why we need someone to speak up on behalf of patients: and that is what this bill does.

A Patient Safety Commissioner is someone who would be able to stand up for patients and fight their corner. Systematic failures in healthcare, both in the past and present, are all too common; an official who is dedicated to avoiding that and reporting on injustices in the past is crucial.

The PSC would be able to recommend redress, and formally investigate healthcare providers, both private sector and NHS Scotland, with the power to obtain information from people involved. This bill also creates a Charter for Scottish Patients, ensuring that healthcare providers have a clear, official reference for best practice and national standards.

I commend this bill.

Link to S1 Debate

This vote will end at 10pm GMT on the 17th of November 2023.