IHRD-6 Response Accepted

Support for Candour Compliance

Recommendation

Support and protection should be given to those who properly fulfil their duty of candour.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The Department of Health NI reported that support mechanisms for staff exercising the duty of candour were being developed (IHRD Implementation Programme, Department of Health NI, March 2018).
- A Being Open Framework has been implemented across HSC Trusts, incorporating support and guidance for staff on open disclosure (Department of Health NI Progress Report, December 2018).
- The framework remains non-statutory; the statutory duty of candour recommended by the Inquiry has not been enacted.
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 17 Jul 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
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

Support mechanisms established for staff raising concerns. Being Open Framework includes protections.

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Accepted Northern Ireland Executive Follow-up
01 Mar 2018

Guidance updated and incorporated into health and social care training and policies.

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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 Whistleblower channel absence Patient Safety Incident Reporting Investigation Duty of Candour Whistleblowing Staff Support
Recommendation age 8.5 yrs
Last formal update 910 days ago