A recruitment process for a new Patient Safety Commissioner in England is set to begin, with a job specification already published. The creation of the post follows on from recommendations made by the Baroness Cumberlege in a major medicine and medical device safety report. The ‘First do no harm’ report was a review of independent medicines and medical devices, including failures relating to Primodos, sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
Baroness Cumberlege recommended a Patient Safety Commissioner role be established to champion patient voices and influence on the health system. A consultation process was held with public and industry input to decide on the role’s function, responsibilities and scope. The core duty of the new Commissioner is to “promote the safety of patients in the context of the use of medicines and medical devices and promote the importance of the views of patients and other members of the public”. They will be obliged to hold the healthcare system to account regarding safety standards and communicate the role of the Commissioner to the public, and develop a set of working principles for the role through public consultation processes.
The job specification states that the successful candidate could earn £105,000 on a full-time basis or £63,000 if they apply for the job on a three-day basis, which it described as a “minimum” number of days for the role.
Applications for the role opened on 10 January and will remain so until 25 January, with the final interview date on 23 March.
