I will speak to amendment 9 and all other amendments in the group. The six amendments are all related and, taken together, they will strengthen the rights of bereaved families in the bill. The amendments seek to ensure that patients who have been seriously injured or harmed in a healthcare setting are never again left struggling to get answers and justice.

This suite of amendments and the ones that follow in group 3 are the basis for putting Milly’s law into effect. Taken together, the amendments will deliver a duty to advocate for those affected by a major incident in a healthcare setting; a patient safety charter for the benefit of patients and their families—which we will come on to—a duty to ensure that patients who are affected by a major incident are aware of the commissioner’s role; a duty to provide affected patients with information and details that will support them; and a duty to provide information to whistleblowers on how to disclose information relating to a major incident.

I remind members why this is so important. Milly Main was 10 years old and in remission from leukaemia when she tragically lost her life to an infection that was believed to have been caused by the water supply in the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. Her mum, Kimberly, has had to battle to get answers, compounding her pain at what was an unimaginably difficult time. She is not the only family member who has had to fight alone for answers in a situation like that. Louise Slorance, a grieving widow who lost her husband in the Queen Elizabeth university hospital infection scandal and who Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board chose to pay a private company to spy on, is still waiting for a meeting with the health board that was promised by the former First Minister. Both Louise and Kimberly are still awaiting the outcome of the Queen Elizabeth public inquiry. For those of us with even longer memories, I also want to mention the C diff scandal that happened at the Vale of Leven hospital. Those are illustrations of where having a patient safety commissioner with robust powers would have been so important.

Let me address the amendments in turn. Amendment 9 would add to the duties of the patient safety commissioner for Scotland, meaning that they would be required

“to advocate for those affected by a major incident”,

while amendment 20 defines the term “major incident”.

Amendment 17 would introduce a new section to the bill relating to the commissioner’s role once they are made aware of a major incident. That would include making patients affected by major incidents and the families of patients who died as a result of them aware of the commissioner’s role and providing relevant information including sources of support, information on accessing legal advice and representation; details of any investigations or inquiries relating to the incident; and, of course, advice to whistleblowers. Significantly, amendment 17 would also require the commissioner to consider initiating a formal investigation into an incident within one year of becoming aware of it.

My amendments do not seek to hinder the work of the commissioner and, indeed, amendment 17 requires the commissioner to consider initiating a formal investigation but does not require them to carry out that investigation. We are trying to be proportionate.

Amendment 21 defines the term “family member” for the purposes of identifying who should be contacted by the commissioner in the event of a major incident.

Under amendment 18, when the commissioner completed a formal investigation, they would be required to provide a copy of their report into the incident to the police and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. That amendment also confirms that the report could be used in legal proceedings.

Under the bill as it stands, the patient safety commissioner does not have the power to make redress or assist those seeking redress, nor do they have power to opine on actions that should be taken in relation to individuals. However, amendment 10 would ensure that major incidents are exempt from that element of the bill.

My amendments would empower the patient safety commissioner to advocate for people who have been failed by the healthcare system. They would ensure that those who are affected by such incidents are supported in knowing their rights and in getting the appropriate help. By empowering the role of the commissioner, we can begin to reset the balance between families and powerful public bodies.

I move amendment 9.