NHS trusts issue apologies under new duty of candour
A statutory duty of candour is set to be enforced within the NHS, covering a wider set of incidents than was expected, and also meaning that trusts will be forced to apologise more frequently to affected patients.
The regulations in Parliament have introduced a variety of measures as part of the government’s response to the Francis inquiry’s final report last year. These include a legal duty of candour, a “fit and proper person test” for NHS directors and “fundamental standards” to be enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
The new duty of candour means that patients will have to be informed when an incident could have led to severe or moderate harm or even death, which is a change to previous rules where the duty was only set to apply if the incident had led to harm or death. Another new feature is that for the first time, NHS organisations will be expected to write to patients and apologise, if they have been involved in an incident. These changes are due to be implemented in October.
New duty
Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action Against Medical Accidents told the HSJ “The addition of the word ‘could’ and the wider duty mean more patients and families will know the truth. It is one of the most important things to come out of the Francis inquiry.”
Also on the agenda, was the the ‘fit and proper person test’ for NHS trust directors, with the Department of Heath estimating that seven NHS directors could be deemed unfit each year. Care Minister Norman Lamb said “It is only an estimate but nonetheless do you want seven people who are not fit and proper to be directors of a health trust?”
