Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023

Purpose and principles

2 Functions

(1) The Commissioner’s general functions 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.

(2) In exercising those functions, the Commissioner may in particular—

(a) gather information, for example patient feedback, relating to the safety of health care,

(b) keep under review, analyse and report on information obtained,

(c) make recommendations for systemic improvements in the safety of health care,

(d) promote public awareness of safety practices in relation to health care,

(e) promote co-ordination among health care providers and public authorities with functions that relate to health care.

(3) It is not the Commissioner’s role to resolve, or facilitate the resolution of, grievances arising from past incidents; accordingly, the Commissioner has no power to—

(a) make awards, or provide any other form of redress, for harms suffered,

(b) assist individuals in seeking redress for harms suffered,

(c) opine on the action that another person ought to take in respect of an individual in light of a past incident.

(4) Nothing in subsection (3) precludes the Commissioner from investigating past incidents in order to inform the actions that the Commissioner, and others, may take to effect systemic improvement in the safety of health care.

3 Principles

(1) The Commissioner must—

(a) have a statement of the principles that are to inform the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions, and

(b) make the latest version of the statement publicly available.

(2) The statement of principles must include the principle that the Commissioner will seek to work co-operatively with other persons where appropriate, having regard to the importance of the Commissioner’s independence.