What is Duty of Candour?

NHS Trust Fined in First Ever Lack of Candour Prosecution

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust was recently fined by the CQC for failing to discharge its Duty of Candour, following the death of a patient at Derriford Hospital.

The CQC brought the prosecution after it discovered the NHS Trust had failed to share information with a patient’s family as to what had happened, or apologised within a timely manner. The NHS Trust admitted to its failings and was ordered to pay a fine plus legal costs totalling more than £12,000.00.

Following the judgment, Deputy Judge Joanna Matson described it as “a very good example of why these regulatory offences are very important.” She went on to say “Not only have (the family) had to come to terms with their tragic death, but their loss has been compounded by the Trust’s lack of candour,”

What Should Happen?

The Care Quality Commission states that healthcare providers must “promote a culture that encourages, candour, openness and honesty at all levels” as well as commit to being “open and transparent at board level or its equivalent, such as a governing body”.

This means that if medical negligence does take place, the healthcare provider responsible must assess whether it should tell the patient what’s happened.

In order to meet the regulations, they must:

• Tell the relevant person, in person, as soon as is reasonably practicable after a safety incident has occurred
• Provide support to them in relation to the incident
• Give an accurate account of what’s happened
• Advise the patient what further enquiries they believe are appropriate
• Offer an apology
• Follow up the apology by giving the same information in writing, and providing an update on the enquiries
• Keep a written record of all communication with the relevant person

It’s crucial to note that receiving an apology from the healthcare provider, hospital or care provider is not actually an admission of fault. In fact, NHS Resolution encourages an apology to be made as it is: 

• always the right thing to do
• not an admission of liability
• acknowledges that something could have gone better
• the first step to learning from what happened and preventing it recurring

NHS Resolution is a body of the Department of Health and Social Care. They provide expertise to the NHS on resolving concerns and disputes fairly, sharing learning for improvement and preserving resources for patient care.

The Duty of Candour was created because of concerns about the behaviour and lack of transparency in some NHS Trusts. It’s aim was to build trust between healthcare professionals and patients, who have suffered harm. As such, the fact that an NHS Trust has recently been prosecuted for not discharging this duty is a stark reminder to healthcare professionals that they must remain open and transparent.

These are fundamental principles to our Medical Negligence Solicitors, who are always keen to work with the NHS to settle compensation claims. We make sure to encourage dialogue and positive engagement. Every time we settle a claim we really want to achieve two things (1) the best possible settlement for our client and (2) for the NHS to learn lessons for the future, so that the same mistakes aren’t made again.

We have found by using methods such as mediation, both parties are afforded the opportunity to speak to each other in a non-confrontational setting and come away properly understanding each perspective.

The fact that a prosecution has been made by the CQC in respect of the Duty of Candour will hopefully encourage NHS Trusts to act with openness and an attitude to settle claims amicably.

Does Duty of Candour Apply to Armed Forces Medics?

If you are serving in the British Armed Forces or are a veteran and you received medical treatment by medics in the armed forces, then it’s important to know that Duty of Candour also applies to you.

If you think you have received negligent medical treatment, you may have a claim for compensation. The process for making a compensation claim works in the same way as it would had been treated under the NHS and our expert team of Medical Negligence Solicitors are able to assist you with this.

How Can Simpson Millar Help?

The aim of compensation is to compensate a person for their loss and to put them back in the position that they would have been in, had the incident/ negligence not occurred.

If you have been affected by medical negligence and wish to pursue a claim for compensation, you can contact our friendly and helpful team today on 0808 239 6043. Alternatively, you can request a call back. We may be able to take on your case on a No Win, No Fee basis – just ask us about this and the different funding options available to you.