IHRD-4 Response Accepted

Trust Awareness of Duty of Candour

Recommendation

Trusts should ensure that all healthcare professionals are made fully aware of the importance, meaning and implications of the duty of candour and its critical role in the provision of healthcare.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
Government response: Accepted. Last substantive update was January 2024. No recent public evidence of further progress.
Sources
Government response (2018-03-01): Accepted Source: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/ihrd-implementation-programme Text: Being Open Framework implemented across Trusts. Training provided to staff on duty of candour principles. Government response (2018-03-01): Accepted in Principle Source: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/ihrd-implementation-programme Text: Reviewed in context of workforce planning. Some concerns raised by Royal Colleges about potential de-skilling impacts. Implementation being balanced against training needs. Progress update (2024-01-31): In Progress Implementation status based on Department of Health NI Implementation Programme updates. Note: This tracks key recommendations
full inquiry had 96 recommendations requiring 120 actions. Source: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/ihrd-implementation-programme
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by baseline-data-v1 on 26 May 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.health-ni.gov.uk
This recommendation asks for cultural or behavioural change, which is difficult to verify from published sources alone. The evidence above reflects policy commitments rather than measured outcomes.
Jurisdiction
Northern Ireland
Response
Accepted
Accepted HSC Trusts Initial Response
01 Mar 2018

Being Open Framework implemented across Trusts. Training provided to staff on duty of candour principles.

Read Full Response
Accepted in Part Northern Ireland Executive Follow-up
01 Mar 2018

Reviewed in context of workforce planning. Some concerns raised by Royal Colleges about potential de-skilling impacts. Implementation being balanced against training needs.

Read Full Response
Published Evidence

Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
06 Feb 2026
HSC Trusts / Department of Health NI Other

A Being Open Framework has been implemented across HSC Trusts with staff training on candour principles, but this is non-statutory and lacks enforcement mechanisms.

View detailed findings

While the statutory duty of candour remains unimplemented, HSC Trusts have adopted the Being Open Framework which promotes openness and transparency. Training has been provided to staff on candour principles. However, without statutory backing, compliance relies on goodwill rather than legal obligation. The 2024 consultation sought to strengthen this framework.

IHRD Implementation Programme / Being Open Framew… View Source
Source
Inquiry Hyponatraemia Inquiry
Report Report of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths 31 Jan 2018
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Northern Ireland Executive Primary
HSC Trusts Primary
Themes & Tags
Duty of Candour implementation Staff policy awareness Duty of Candour Training Healthcare Medical Training Paediatrics Staffing
Recommendation age 8.3 yrs
Last formal update 851 days ago