Duty of candour: is it going to work?

Whenever an avoidable medical error occurs resulting in harm, all patients should now be told about this.  This is known as a duty of candour. One of our Clinical Negligence Solicitors, Nick Gray, gives a quick insight into this below:

It is hoped that such an approach should improve overall standards of medical care.  However, how will this new obligation work in practice?

I was recently approach by a father whose son had suffered significant visual damage following an infection which developed in a cannula.  He had been told that an investigation would be undertaken to find out what had happened and the results of this shared with him.  Subsequently, he heard nothing further.  It was only when he requested copies of the all documents available following the investigation that he was informed an internal decision had been made at Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals that this was no longer regarded as Serious Incident, and the investigation would therefore be downgraded.

The full reason behind this decision remains unclear because he continues to await copies of all the documents he is entitled to see.

• Without a full investigation, will lessons be learned in order to prevent a similar situation occurring again in the future?
• Why was my client’s father not involved in the investigation process and decision making?
• Is it because he would be unlikely to agree with the decision made?

If you think you have suffered medical negligence then talk to our specialist Clinical Negliegence team on 01482 323697 and see if we can help.