IHRD-5 Response Accepted

Employment Contracts and Duty of Candour

Recommendation

Trusts should review their contracts of employment, policies and guidance to ensure that, where relevant, they include and are consistent with the duty of candour.

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: Trusts reviewing employment contracts and policies for consistency with duty of candour requirements. Government response (2018-03-01): Accepted Source: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/ihrd-implementation-programme Text: Prototypes to determine the most appropriate way to operate such a service are progressing. Learning will inform proposals for an IME service in Northern Ireland. 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 applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
Northern Ireland
Response
Accepted
Accepted HSC Trusts Initial Response
01 Mar 2018

Trusts reviewing employment contracts and policies for consistency with duty of candour requirements.

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

Prototypes to determine the most appropriate way to operate such a service are progressing. Learning will inform proposals for an IME service in Northern Ireland.

Read Full Response
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 Employment Policy Death Certification Medical Examiners Oversight
Recommendation age 8.3 yrs
Last formal update 851 days ago