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Duty of candour refers to openness and honesty when things go wrong within the health and social care services. It is a professional responsibility, to be honest with patients when things go wrong. Understanding and abiding by the duty of candour will create more openness between professionals and patients, as well as building trust.
In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on honesty and transparency in healthcare – particularly following a number of public inquiries into patient care failures. Any culture of secrecy or cover-up in healthcare is to be challenged, which has led to a focus on making ‘candour’ in healthcare mandatory.
Candour has been defined by the Professional Standards Authority as “being open and transparent when something has gone wrong”. Currently, nurses are affected by both professional and statutory duties of candour.