Government reverses abolition plan

The government is set to reverse its decision to abolish the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) and transfer its investigative functions to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The Department of Health and Social Care told Pulse on 30 October 2026 that it had tabled amendments to the Health Bill to retain HSSIB in its current form, preserving its independent investigative function and specialist expertise. The Health Service Journal reported that the amendments remove the provisions that would have abolished the body.

HSSIB was established in 2023 as a non-departmental body carrying out independent patient-safety investigations into incidents linked to NHS-provided or privately provided healthcare in England. The original plan to abolish it came from the NHS 10-year health plan, following a review by NHS England chair Penny Dash that called for fewer bodies involved in quality oversight. Under that plan, HSSIB’s powers, including powers of entry and the ability to demand and secure documentary evidence, would have passed to the CQC.

Why critics opposed the merger

The CQC itself raised concerns about taking on HSSIB’s functions, warning the Health and Social Care Select Committee about a conflict of interest between its proposed investigatory and regulatory arms. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Patient Safety also objected to placing an independent investigations body inside a regulator. Campaigners argued that a “safe space” for staff and patients to share evidence frankly would be harder to protect if the investigator and the regulator were the same organisation.

The department said it remains committed to the Dash Review’s objectives of simplifying oversight, improving coordination and ensuring investigations lead to better outcomes, and will continue to address duplication. The U-turn follows a similar reversal retaining Healthwatch England, which had also been earmarked for abolition.

Sources: Pulse Today, “NHS safety investigations body will no longer be abolished, Government confirms”; Health Service Journal, “Patient Safety Watch: HSSIB saved”.