Duty of candour review: terms of reference (6 December 2023)

Summary

The review into the statutory duty of candour has been established by the Department of Health and Social Care to consider the design of operation of this requirement, assess its effectiveness and make advisory recommendations.

The duty of candour is about people’s right to openness and transparency from their health or care provider. It means that when something goes wrong during the provision of health and care services, patients and families have a right to receive explanations for what happened as soon as possible and a meaningful apology.

Content

The purpose of this review is to consider the design of the statutory (organisational) duty of candour and its operation (including compliance and enforcement) to assess its effectiveness and make advisory recommendations.

The Terms of Reference states that this will focus on solutions in response to concerns within independent reports that the duty is not always met as intended and that it will not consider the professional duty of candour, which is overseen by regulators of specific healthcare professions.

The terms of reference states that it will focus on consideration of three aspects of the duty:

1. To what extent the policy and its design are appropriate for the health and care system in England.
2. To what extent the policy is honoured, monitored and enforced.
3. To what extent the policy has met its objectives.