Establishment of a New Patient Experience Department
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is set to establish a new Directorate for Patient Experience, as part of the structural changes following the abolition of NHS England. This move is designed to significantly enhance the profile and influence of the patient voice within the health system, with a focus on patient safety, complaints, advocacy, and engagement.
The Directorate's key functions will include improving the complaints system across the NHS, enhancing patient voice and engagement work, managing advocacy support for patients, supporting those who have suffered unsafe care, and building on the Patient Safety Commissioner's remit focused on medicines and medical device safety.
The creation of this Directorate is in response to the Review of patient safety led by Dr Penny Dash, current Chair of NHS England. The new setup aims to address the current lack of a dedicated director for patient or customer experience in NHS England's executive team and align the healthcare system more closely with other consumer-focused organisations that retain internal customer experience functions.
The Patient Safety Commissioner's original function, which is to promote patient safety and enable user feedback on adverse impacts of medicines and medical products, will be hosted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This move is expected to offer improved clarity about where responsibility for the patient voice lies in terms of the safety of medicines and medical devices.
Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation, reports on these developments. Developers and suppliers of MedTech are encouraged to engage with the new structures to demonstrate how their products can enhance patient dignity, outcomes, and experience.
The timeline for the creation of the Directorate for Patient Experience within DHSC and its transfer from NHS England is not yet clear. For comments or questions regarding this article, please contact Chris Whitehouse at [email protected].
Dr Penny Dash's recommendations focus on streamlining the patient safety landscape and improving accountability. This new Directorate for Patient Experience is poised to improve patient experience and safety outcomes across the NHS and the wider health and care landscape.
[1] Source: Government Response to the Review of patient safety led by Dr Penny Dash, DHSC, 2022 [3] Source: Wes Streeting's speech on the proposed shake-up of patient safety and quality monitoring, 2021 [5] Source: The Patient Safety Commissioner's role and function, MHRA, 2022
- The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is establishing a new Directorate for Patient Experience to focus on patient safety, complaints, advocacy, and engagement within the health system.
- This Directorate will improve the complaints system across the NHS, enhance patient voice and engagement work, manage advocacy support for patients, and support those affected by unsafe care.
- The Directorate's work will build on the Patient Safety Commissioner's remit focused on medicines and medical device safety, which will now be hosted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
- Developers and suppliers of digital health and medical devices are encouraged to engage with the new structures to demonstrate how their products can enhance patient dignity, outcomes, and experience.
- The proposed changes in patient safety and quality monitoring aim to align the healthcare system more closely with other consumer-focused organizations, and are designed to improve accountability in the health-and-wellness sector.
- In light of these developments, the role of technology, education-and-self-development, finance, general-news, lifestyle, and sports in the healthcare landscape may require reassessment and adaptation.
