The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has given its response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on imposing a ‘duty of candour’ for healthcare providers, in which it says that medical and social care staff should be open and upfront about medical mistakes.
The Government launched a consultation on its statutory duty of candour proposals in October last year, saying that its proposals would put transparency at the heart of NHS care and drive up the standards of care offered.
“Most people who are injured as a result of a medical error want nothing more than an explanation of what went wrong and why, and to know that lessons have been learned,” commented Gordon Dalyell, Scottish representative of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
“People should understand that saying ‘sorry’ or admitting what went wrong, is not an admission of liability for a legal claim,” he added. “This is about giving patients the right to know what has happened to them, so that they might be able to move on.”
APIL also said in its response that the obligation of candour should be on individuals rather than the employer, as proposed by the Scottish Government.
“Individual duty would be much simpler and less bureaucratic, and therefore more likely to be complied with,” Mr Dalyell explained.
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