‘Listening to patients needs to become the norm’, read our response to First Do No Harm report

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, chaired by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, has today published its report.

The two-year review, which drew heavily on the stories shared by patients, looked at the safety of three medical interventions. 

“First Do No Harm” sets out nine major recommendations to support to those who have suffered as a result of these interventions and to reduce the risk of avoidable harm from medicines and medical devices in the future.

Responding to the report, Sir Robert Francis QC, Chair of Healthwatch England said:

"At the heart of this report are the harrowing stories of hundreds of people and their families. It is thanks to their bravery that today's report and its recommendations to improve patient safety has been made possible. 

“But it should not take a special inquiry for people’s concerns to come to light. People need to feel able to come forward, but this will not happen unless health and care services make it clear that they want to hear and learn from people’s experiences.

“Indeed, today we have launched a new campaign, which we are calling on health and care services to use, to encourage more people to share their stories of care.

 “Listening to patients needs to become the norm and is a key step to preventing the sort of issues that today's harrowing report has highlighted”