Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients play an active role in promoting their own safety.

The NHS Patient Safety Strategy, published in July 2019, sets out plans to create patient safety partners – patients, carers, families and lay people involved at all levels in National Health Service organisations - to improve safety. This work includes empowering patients to become active partners in their own safety.

The National Patient Safety team is working with patient and public voice representatives and wider NHS stakeholders on a framework for involving Patient Safety Partners. This is expected to be published in 2019/20.