This consultation sets out a proposed addition to the requirements for registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in order to introduce a statutory Duty of Candour on all providers registered with the CQC.The introduction of a statutory Duty of Candour is a major step towards implementing a key recommendation from the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (the Francis Inquiry). The Duty of Candour will place a requirement on providers of health and adult social care to be open with patients when things go wrong. Providers should establish the duty throughout their organisations, ensuring that honesty and transparency are the norm in every organisation registered by the CQC.The Duty of Candour will be part of the new set of registration requirements that together will set out the clear outcomes that providers must meet, which will be core to good service provision. This consultation on the statutory Duty of Candour follows on from a separate consultation on regulations that will introduce the fundamental standards of care. Subject to Parliamentary approval, all these registration requirements will become part of the same consolidated package of regulations, to be introduced in October 2014.This consultation document sets out in more detail the policy thinking behind the new statutory Duty of Candour. It summarises previous consultations and reviews, and links these reviews to what we are proposing in the draft regulations.
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Response to the Department of Health Introducing the Statutory Duty of Candour: a consultation on proposals to introduce a new CQC registration regulation
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (“the College”) has 50% of its UK fellows and members working in the NHS in England, and is pleased to respond to the Department of Health consultation on introducing a Statutory Duty of Candour.
General comments
The College recognises that there is currently considerable public interest in patient safety, and open reporting, particularly in the wake of the Mid-Staffordshire inquiry. There is a need for the NHS to be recognised by the public as open and transparent about adverse incidents and poor quality, and in this regard the College supports the introduction of a statutory duty of candour on providers.
Threshold
1 Do you have any comments on the Duty of Candour harm threshold chosen for healthcare?
The College supports the introduction of a statutory duty of candour on providers which complements the existing contractual duty of candour under the NHS Standard Contract and other existing obligations.
2 Do you have any comments on the Duty of Candour harm threshold chosen for adult social care?
The College supports the threshold chosen for social care being broadly consistent with application of the duty of candour in the NHS.
Requirements on providers
3 Do you agree with the requirements to be placed on service providers under the Duty of Candour?
Yes: it is important that any organisational duty of candour should be clearly understood; easily applied and be able to work with existing processes and systems as highlighted in the Dalton Williams Report.
The College would particularly emphasise that legislation needs to be accompanied by cultural change in organisations to be effective, and that the requirements should help to reinforce an open and transparent culture of learning and improvement where possible.
Costs
4 Do you have any views on the costs and benefits associated with the Duty of Candour as set out in the draft impact assessment (published alongside this document)? See Annex C for more detailed questions on impact.
No particular comments.
Equalities
5 Do you think any of the proposals set out in this consultation document could have equality impacts for affected persons who share a protected characteristic, as described below? If so, please tell us about them.
(The relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.)
No particular comments.