The Liberal Democrats have accused the Labour government of creating a "bonfire of patient safety" with a new Health Bill that they claim dismantles critical safeguards and removes protections for whistleblowers. The party warns that these changes, if not halted, could risk a patient safety scandal on the scale of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Helen Morgan stated that the Bill guts hard-won safety measures and allows the NHS to "mark its own homework."
The Bill proposes to remove the legal duty for the NHS to cooperate with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a move the CQC itself has warned will restrict its access to vital safety information, including patient safety incident reports. Additionally, automatic "safe space" protections for whistleblowers are reportedly being removed. Currently, staff raising safety concerns with the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) are guaranteed anonymity. However, under the proposed changes, cases would shift to the CQC, which offers no such guarantee. This transition occurs as the National Guardian's Office, responsible for overseeing whistleblowing support, is being closed and its role transferred to NHS England, an organization previously accused of downplaying internal reports on poor care.
The Liberal Democrats are urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to intervene and have tabled amendments to the Health Bill to reverse these proposed changes. They plan to challenge the government in the House of Lords, where Labour does not hold a majority.
The measures come as figures show that the NHS in England recorded 403 "never events" in 2025/26. These are serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur with adequate safeguards in place. Many of the protections now at risk, including those for Healthwatch and whistleblower safeguards, were established in the wake of major NHS scandals such as those in Mid Staffordshire, Morecambe Bay, and Basildon and Thurrock.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated that the NHS Modernisation Bill "explicitly preserves safe space provisions" and "staff will continue to be protected." They added that the reforms aim to give patients a stronger, clearer voice in health and social care decisions.
Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, had previously announced plans to axe or merge hundreds of NHS quangos employing 7,000 staff as part of efforts to cut spending and bureaucracy. This initiative was promoted as a way to simplify regulation and reduce the volume of recommendations issued by these bodies.