Duty of candour review - call for evidence
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is reviewing the statutory duty of candour and has launched a call for evidence which NHS organisations are invited to respond to.
In November 2014, the government introduced a statutory (organisational) duty of candour for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts via Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
The duty places a direct obligation upon trusts to be open and honest with patients and service users, and their families, when something goes wrong that appears to have caused or could lead to moderate harm or worse in the future.
The most significant consequence of the duty of candour is the extent to which leaders within health and care organisations create and support the systems and cultural conditions by which mistakes and errors enable learning and support a process of continuous improvement.
DHSC’s review is being conducted to understand to what extent the duty of candour is honoured, monitored and enforced. Therefore, the call for evidence is in relation to the real-life application of the duty. This will be particularly relevant to those who are, or have been, engaged in the duty, including:
- patients and service users
- families and caregivers
- registered providers
- health and care professionals
- registered managers (known as registered persons)
- health and social care regulators.
The call for evidence closes on Wednesday 29 May 2024.
NHS Employers will not be making a submission, but if your organisation would like to respond full details are on the GOV.UK website.
Further information:
Read the Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
