Chamber and committees

Item 2 is an evidence session on the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Bill. Before we begin, I will provide a brief introduction.

Last week, we heard from Baroness Cumberlege about the independent medicines and medical devices safety review and its key recommendation that a patient safety commissioner be created. A patient safety commissioner has already been established in England and will focus on medicines and medical devices. However, the bill that is before us proposes the creation of a patient safety commissioner for Scotland who will have a broader remit that covers patient safety across all healthcare settings.

The evidence that we hear today will be about issues that were highlighted as part of the Cumberlege review and in relation to wider patient safety issues in Scotland. As such, some of this meeting’s content might be sensitive or distressing, and the committee encourages anyone who is affected by any of the issues that we discuss today to seek support. Breathing Space is a free and confidential service for people in Scotland, and it is able to provide a range of support as detailed on its website, which is breathingspace.scot, or you can call 0800 838587.

If anyone who is attending today’s meeting needs to take a break during the meeting, please indicate that to me or to my clerks and we will allow you to take that break.

I welcome Charlie Bethune from Valproate Scotland. Sodium valproate has been a treatment for epilepsy since it was licensed in the 1970s, but it is known to carry a risk of birth defects if taken by women of childbearing age.

We also have Marie Lyon from the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests. Primodos was a hormonal pregnancy test drug that was administered to women between the 1950s and late 1970s, and it is associated with miscarriages and some birth defects.

Fraser Morton was among a number of families who called for a public inquiry into infant deaths at Crosshouse hospital maternity unit.

Joining us online is Irene Oldfather from the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. She will be speaking from the perspective of her organisation’s work with women who have been affected by complications following transvaginal mesh surgery.

Bill Wright from Haemophilia Scotland will be speaking from the perspective of those who were affected by the contaminated blood scandal, when a large number of people, most of whom had haemophilia, were infected by hepatitis C and HIV in the 1970s and 1980s.

I thank you all for coming along. I know that some of you might be sharing personal experiences with the committee, in relation to the bill. That is greatly appreciated by us and will be instrumental in informing our scrutiny, but there is no pressure to, or expectation that you will, share personal experiences.

We will move on to questions. I would like to ask all of you for your views on the proposed establishment of a patient safety commissioner, and whether you think that a patient safety commissioner would or could have made a difference for those whom you represent or for you personally, if you have been affected. I will go to Charlie Bethune first.

I was asking that question on the basis of comments made by Bill Wright, who was on the previous panel of witnesses. He made the point that people making complaints were almost seen to be the enemy. That point came across very strongly. I am sorry—I have butted in. I will bring in Paul Sweeney.

Please do not apologise. We have asked you for your story, which you have put very powerfully.

Can I come to you, Marie?

I will bring in Irene Oldfather, because she has to leave after this.

Thank you. Emma Harper has a question and then we will have a final question from Sandesh Gulhane.

Our final question is from Sandesh Gulhane.

I am sorry for going into that specific area, but it is an example of where a patient safety commissioner might have made a difference. I will leave it there.

Thank you. I come to Fraser Morton.

I am sorry to intervene, but Charlie Bethune talked about valproate in the earlier session. That is a specific example. He flagged up that that is still being prescribed to pregnant women.

We will probably come to that. I just wanted to give everyone the opportunity to put down their general thoughts on a patient safety commissioner and to set out their particular history in that regard.

I will pass on to my colleagues, who have a number of questions.