14 Response Accepted

Board apologies

Recommendation

We recommend that when things go wrong, boards should apologise at the earliest stage of investigation and not hold back from doing so for fear of the consequences in relation to their liability.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- In December 2021, the government accepted this recommendation, stating that Duty of Candour regulations require healthcare providers to be open when things go wrong and that NHS Resolution had clarified that sincere apologies do not constitute admissions of liability (Government Response to the Paterson Inquiry, DHSC, December 2021).
- The December 2022 implementation update stated that NHS Resolution had produced a duty of candour animation explaining apology requirements and enhanced training and resources for clinicians on meaningful apologies (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 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
England
Response
Accepted
Accepted Department of Health and Social Care
16 Dec 2021

Accepted. Duty of Candour regulations require healthcare providers to be open when things go wrong. NHS Resolution promotes early apology and has clarified that sincere apologies do not constitute admission of liability. Professional Standards Authority guidance supports early acknowledgment of harm. Training on candour being embedded across NHS and independent sector. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)

Source
Inquiry Paterson Inquiry
Report Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson 04 Feb 2020
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Department of Health and Social Care Primary
Themes & Tags
Duty of Candour implementation No open learning culture Apology Duty of Candour Boards Liability Candour
Recommendation age 6.4 yrs
Last formal update 1640 days ago