A new law requiring healthcare staff to always be open and honest with patients and families when there are safety failures during treatment is long overdue in Northern Ireland, lawyers have said.
“Introducing a ‘duty of candour’ law would mean clinicians, managers and senior leaders have a clear statutory obligation to be transparent when negligent treatment has happened,” said Oonagh McClure, the Northern Ireland representative of not-for-profit campaign group the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
“A duty of candour law in operation would mean all staff are legally required to be forthright when patients have been the victims of sub-standard care. All too often patients suffer further anguish when they are left in the dark as to what went wrong when they suffer harm,” she said.
“A candour law would ensure patient safety is at the centre of health care. And if negligent treatment occurred a legal requirement to be frank means lessons can be learned and avoidable suffering is not repeated,” she said.
“The Northern Ireland Inquiry into Hyponatraemia Related Deaths (IHRD) which found some deaths were due to avoidable medical errors and a flawed healthcare culture recommended a candour law back in 2018, but nothing came of it. It’s time to act,” she added.
The Department of Health for Northern Ireland is currently consulting on proposals to introduce its Being Open Framework, which aims to establish a culture of honesty and openness in healthcare.
“We support introducing the framework but it must be accompanied by a candour law, because without statutory enforcement the framework lacks teeth. The proposals being discussed at present are an opportunity to make a real positive difference to patient safety and improve the experiences of injured patients who deserve answers,” said Ms McClure.