December 2023
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about patient safety, and the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review.
The Government set out an ambitious programme for change in its full response to the IMMDS Review in 2021. At its core, this is about improving patient safety by putting the patient voice at the centre, strengthening the evidence base on which decisions are made and improving safety by embracing opportunities to reform regulatory frameworks.
I was encouraged by the appointment of Dr Henrietta Hughes as England's first Patient Safety Commissioner. Dr Hughes acts as an independent point of contact for patients ensuring that their concerns are heard and also works to support the NHS and the Government better understand what can be done to put patients first and promote their safety. The Health and Care Act also established the Health Services Safety Investigations Body to investigate patient safety incidents in England.
It cannot be ignored that the Report of the IMMDS Review is one of several independent reports and inquiries to have concluded that our healthcare system disproportionately fails to listen to women and keep them safe. This must change. The publication of England's first ever Women’s Health Strategy sets out to expand women's health-focused education for doctors, commission new research into healthcare professionals' experience of listening to women to inform policy and update guidance for women-specific health conditions such as endometriosis.
I am encouraged by the recent publication of a one-year update on progress to implement the accepted recommendations and actions for improvement put forward by the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. This report shows that the Government has and will continue to make substantial progress.
I will of course continue to engage with this issue on behalf of any of my constituents impacted by hormone pregnancy tests, mesh implants, and sodium valproate in particular.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Best wishes,
Angela Richardson MP
Member of Parliament for Guildford, Cranleigh and our villages