Health Services Safety Investigations Body
The existing Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch ("the Investigation Branch") was set up on 1 April 2017. The Investigation Branch is currently operational under Secretary of State Directions as an organisational arm of the TDA. The Act establishes a new statutory body which will largely replace the Investigation Branch. There will be transitional arrangements to transfer the Investigation Branch’s function to NHS England for an interim period following the abolition of the TDA and prior to the establishment of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).
	The HSSIB is a new Executive NDPB, with powers and independence to conduct investigations into "qualifying incidents". These are incidents that occur in England during the provision of health care services which have, or may have, implications for the safety of patients. Independence is fundamental to the HSSIB as it will help ensure that patients, families and staff have trust in its processes and judgements.
	Establishing the HSSIB as a new independent body aligns with the Department’s drive to improve patient safety and reflects the commitment given when the Investigation Branch was established.
	The Act creates a "safe space" within which participants can provide information to the HSSIB for the purposes of an investigation without fear that it will be disclosed to others. It prevents the HSSIB, or any individual connected with the HSSIB, from disclosing "protected material" held by the HSSIB in connection with its investigatory function. In this context, protected material includes any information, document, equipment or other item which is held by the HSSIB (or a connected individual) for the purposes of the HSSIB’s investigation function. Information held in safe space will only be disclosed by the HSSIB in certain limited circumstances. The policy to establish the "safe space" provision is comparable to similar legal provisions for bodies that investigate air, rail and marine accidents. These investigation branches look to use "safe space" principles to improve safety, by promoting learning and not attributing blame, and this is a founding principle behind establishing a "safe space" for investigating qualifying incidents.
	The HSSIB will look to encourage the spread of a culture of learning within the NHS through promoting better standards for local investigations and improving their quality and effectiveness. To this end, the HSSIB may provide advice, guidance and training to organisations in connection with an investigation upon request.
	HSSIB’s remit will cover healthcare provided in and by the independent sector as well as by the NHS.
	This policy aligns with the recommendations in the report Learning not blaming: the Government response to the Freedom to Speak Up consultation, the Public Administration Select Committee report ‘Investigating Clinical Incidents in the NHS’ and the Morecambe Bay Investigation (July 2015). 1