“Ian Paterson harmed hundreds of patients over many years. In recent months I have met some of the women he treated, and I have been hugely impressed by their courage and tenacity in gradually getting a reluctant system to listen. Now it is time for action. We welcome the commitments that the government has made today.

“PHIN will continue to play it’s part in producing better information for patients. We are glad to see the commitment to produce information helping patients to better understand the key differences between private care and NHS care [Recommendation 3]. We welcome the commitment to using good data to improve safety and performance across the NHS.

“PHIN will continue to advocate for the publication of comprehensive information on consultants’ activity and outcomes. This is already a legal requirement in private healthcare, thanks to the Competition & Markets Authority, but the task of making it a reality would benefit hugely from the full backing of ministers and the Department of Health & Social Care. We look forward to productive ongoing discussions.

“It is encouraging to see the importance of PHIN’s work recognised. Better information will inevitably lead to better patient safety. Until we have comprehensive information produced to a publishable standard, we have not done all that we can to keep patients safe.”