The Government has promised more openness, greater accountability and a relentless focus on safety within the NHS in its response to the Inquiry into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Key proposals for consultation would see all NHS organisations and professional staff obligated to be open with patients when things go wrong. If a hospital had not been open with patients and their families following a patient safety incident, its indemnity cover for that compensation claims could be reduced or removed. This would give a strong financial incentive to hospitals to be open about patient safety incidents.
Similarly, the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the other professional regulators will introduce a new explicit and consistent professional duty of candour for doctors, nurses and other health professionals, making clear a requirement to be open with patients and families, whether the incident is serious or not.
Health professionals will have to be candid with patients about all avoidable harm and the guidance will make clear that obstructing colleagues in being candid will be a breach of their professional codes. Speaking up quickly may also be considered to be a mitigating factor in a conduct hearing and this will further encourage individual candour.
Inspired by normal practice in the airline industry, “near misses” of serious harm will also be subject to a professional duty of candour, fostering an NHS culture in which reporting and learning from mistakes is the norm.
The Government also intends to legislate at the earliest available opportunity to make it an offence to wilfully neglect patients - so that organisations and staff, whether managers or clinicians, responsible for the very worst failures in care are held accountable.
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