Purpose and principles
Section 2: Functions
7.Subsection (1) of section 2 provides for the Commissioner’s general functions. They 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.
8.Definitions of “health care” and “patient” are provided in section 21 and you may find it helpful to refer to that provision of the Act and paragraphs 53 to 56 of these Notes.
9.Subsection (2) of section 2 gives examples of things which the Commissioner may do in order to achieve its purposes, including gathering information, including patient feedback, relating to safety issues in health care, making recommendations for systemic improvements in the safety of health care, and promoting co-ordination among health care providers and public authorities with functions relating to health care. The list is not exhaustive of the activities in which the Commissioner might engage.
10.Subsection (3) makes clear that the Commissioner is to focus on improving the safety of health care in the future, not directly addressing past incidents.
11.This does not mean, however, that the Commissioner cannot consider past incidents in order to inform actions which the Commissioner and others may take to advance the safety of health care in future (see subsection (4)).
Section 3: Principles
12.Section 3 requires the Commissioner to have a statement of principles which are to inform the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions. The Commissioner can update the statement of principles. The Commissioner must make the latest version of the statement available to the public. The preparation of a statement of principles is subject to the consultation duty in section 7.
Sections 4 and 5: Strategic planning
13.Sections 4 and 5 deal with strategic planning by the Commissioner. A strategic plan is a document in which, amongst other things, the Commissioner sets out what the Commissioner intends to focus on over the lifetime of the plan. The lifetime of a strategic plan is for the Commissioner to set, but it cannot exceed 4 years (section 5(2)). The preparation of a strategic plan is subject to the consultation duty in section 7.
Section 6: Patient Safety Charter
14.Section 6 requires the Commissioner to have a charter setting out what the Commissioner expects of health care providers in terms of standards and good practice. The charter is to be made publicly available. Subsection (3) states that the charter may, in particular, make provision in relation to the way that health care providers engage with patients and their families. The Commissioner must take the expectations set out in the charter into account when considering how a health care provider has handled a patient safety incident.
Section 7: Duty to consult on principles, strategic plan and charter
15.When preparing a statement of principles in accordance with section 3, a strategic plan in accordance with section 5 or a charter in accordance with section 6 the Commissioner must consult the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (“
16.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.
