Proposed bill to ensure patient safety, dept says

Simon Harris, the health minister, will today bring to Cabinet the Patient Safety Bill, which will ensure that healthcare staff must report incidents as part of mandatory disclosure.

The bill will provide that where a health services provider is satisfied that a notifiable patient safety incident has occurred, a disclosure must be made of all information known by the provider including the consequences, an apology if appropriate, and the actions that must be taken to reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring again.