Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the remit of the Healthcare Safety Investigative Branch to conduct overarching, independent investigations into patient safety concerns in residential care homes in England.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) conducts independent investigations of patient safety concerns in National Health Service-funded care across England. Currently, it can investigate patient safety concerns in care homes if the patient’s care is NHS-funded and meets the HSIB’s criteria for its national investigations. There are also plans in place to amend the NHS Health and Care Bill to extend the HSIB’s remit to identify and address patient safety risks in the provision of NHS services and other healthcare services in England.