NHS warned it ‘will not be forgiven’ if it fails to act on Cumberlege report

Baroness Julia Cumberlege — the Conservative peer who led the report on device and medicine safety — also said she was “surprised” the government had scheduled its major Budget statement for the same day, having already decided that her report, which it commissioned, would be published today (Wednesday).

Her review found current patient safety reporting systems were failing to serve the best interest of patients.

At the press launch of the report today, she said the culture of the NHS “really does need a shake-up” after her review found mistakes are being perpetuated though denial by clinicians and “a resistance to no-blame learning”.

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, which spoke to more than 700 people, mostly women, who have suffered avoidable harm from surgical mesh implants, pregnancy tests and an anti-epileptic drug, is calling for an independent patient safety commissioner to be appointed, as well as a ‘redress agency’ for harmed patients.

At the press conference, Baroness Cumberlege said: “If this government and healthcare system ignores our review and another medication or medical device [causes harm] to the extent we have witnessed they will not and should not be forgiven.”

“Those patient safety groups and the suffering we have witnessed – we cannot ignore that. There are too many people whose lives have been turned upside down.”

She said she would be watching whether the government responded, and that it was important the review’s recommendations were all adopted. 

Baroness Cumberlege added: “This report is a real wake up call for the whole of the health care system. We have to explore every sort of avenue we can to ensure that we do something through this report. To change the culture within the NHS because it really does need a shake up. We believe our report will do that.”

Responding to a question from HSJ, Baroness Cumberlege said: “We have been on the [government communications] grid for three or four weeks now. So we were quite surprised when we heard the chancellor was going to make this important [budget] statement today.

The report criticised a culture of “dismissive and arrogant attitudes that only serve to intimidate and confuse” which included the “unacceptable labelling of many symptoms as “attributable to ‘women’s problems’”.

The Government is expected to make a statement on the review in Parliament tomorrow. It has aldready said it will “give this independent review the full and careful consideration it deserves before setting out our full response”.