Department of Health Launches Public Consultation on Statutory Duty of Candour

The Department of Health (DoH) has launched a public consultation on policy proposals to enact a statutory Duty of Candour in health and social care services in Northern Ireland.

The consultation forms part of the DoH’s response to Mr. Justice O’Hara’s report of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-Related Deaths (IHRD) published in January 2018.

The reports first recommendation was that a statutory Duty of Candour should be enacted in Northern Ireland and that it should apply to Healthcare Organisations and everyone working for them. Mr. Justice O’Hara also recommended that criminal liability should attach to breach of this duty and to obstruction of another in the performance of this duty. He made further recommendations about the guidance, support and protection that should be provided for staff in order to create a more open culture.

At this stage of the policy development, the DoH are specifically consulting on:

• Policy options for the statutory organisational Duty of Candour; and

• Policy options for the statutory individual Duty of Candour; and

• The policy framework for Being Open guidance.

The consultation document and response questionnaire are both available via the Department’s website at:

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/consultations/duty-of-candour