Analysing the Cumberlege Review: Who should join the dots for patient safety? (16 July 2020)

Summary

On Wednesday 8 July 2020 the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review published its report First Do No Harm, examining how the healthcare system in England responds to reports about the harmful side effects from medicines and medical devices. Chaired by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, the review focused on looking at what happened in relation to three medical interventions: hormone pregnancy tests, sodium valproate and pelvic mesh implants.

In this blog Patient Safety Learning consider the reports findings in more detail, highlighting the key patient safety themes running through this, which are also found in many other patient safety scandals in the last twenty years. It also looks at what needs to change to prevent these issues recurring and asks whether NHS leaders stick with the current ways of working, make a few improvements, or take this opportunity for transformational change.