Scotland to create patient champion role

A patient safety commissioner is to be appointed in Scotland to champion the views of people who have been harmed by treatments provided by the health service.

It is one of the central recommendations following a review led by life the peer Julia Cumberlege into three treatments—Primodos, sodium valproate, and pelvic mesh—that resulted in birth defects, learning difficulties, and life changing complications for thousands of women.1 Although the review’s recommendations were directed at the healthcare system in England, Scotland has decided to act on creating …