Duty of Candour to be revised following legal challenge

Published: 2 Jul 2015

The Department of Health have agreed to consult on changing the Duty of Candour regulations following a legal challenge by AvMA.  In April 2015 a different duty of candour was created for NHS primary care and private healthcare than that which applies to NHS bodies such as trusts.  The primary care and private care duty excludes incidents which “could lead to” harm.  AvMA had tried to persuade the Department of Health not to create this anomaly but ministers pressed ahead.  AvMA then threatened a judicial review on the basis that there had been no consultation on creating two different versions of the duty of candour. And that it was unfair and irrational.  A consultation on changing these regulations based on the definition used for NHS bodies being consistently  applied across all sectors.