Duty of Candour Annual Report

All healthcare professionals have a professional responsibility to be honest with patients when things go wrong. The statutory organisational duty of candour has been developed to be in close alignment with the requirements of the professional duties of candour and is the procedure that organisations providing health services, care services and social work services in Scotland are required by law to follow.

This legal requirement means that when an unintended or unexpected incident (adverse event) arising from the care and/or treatment they have provided results in death (extreme), severe (major) or moderate harm as defined in the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016, the people affected must understand what has happened and receive an apology and the organisation must establish mechanisms through which learning is gained about how to improve for the future.