Statutory Duty of Candour
Hyponatraemia Inquiry · Report of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths · Issued 31 January 2018 · Addressed to: Northern Ireland Executive
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
A statutory duty of candour should now be enacted in Northern Ireland so that: (i) Every healthcare organisation and everyone working for them must be open and honest in all their dealings with patients and the public. (ii) Where death or serious harm has been or may have been caused to a patient by an act or omission of the organisation or its staff, the patient (or duly authorised representative) should be informed of the incident and given a full and honest explanation of the circumstances. (iii) Full and honest answers must be given to any question reasonably asked about treatment by a patient (or duly authorised representative). (iv) Any statement made to a regulator or other individual acting pursuant to statutory duty must be truthful and not misleading by omission. (v) Any public statement made by a healthcare organisation about its performance must be truthful and not misleading by omission. (vi) Healthcare organisations who believe or suspect that treatment or care provided by it, has caused death or serious injury to a patient, must inform that patient (or duly authorised representative) as soon as is practicable and provide a full and honest explanation of the circumstances. (vii) Registered clinicians and other registered healthcare professionals, who believe or suspect that treatment or care provided to a patient by or on behalf of any healthcare organisation by which they are employed has caused death or serious injury to the patient, must report their belief or suspicion to their employer as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Hyponatraemia Inquiry, Report of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths · 31 Jan 2018 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Department of Health NI stated in March 2018 that legislation for a statutory duty of candour was being taken forward (IHRD Implementation Programme, Department of Health NI, March 2018).
- A public consultation on the introduction of a statutory duty of candour was held in 2020-2021 (Public Consultation on Statutory Duty of Candour, Department of Health NI, 2021).
- Health Minister Robin Swann stated in January 2021 that it was "time to press ahead" on implementing the inquiry recommendations (Ministerial Statement, Department of Health NI, January 2021).
- In December 2024, the Department launched a further public consultation on a Being Open Framework and statutory duty of candour, closing March 2025 (Being Open Framework and Duty of Candour Consultation, Department of Health NI, December 2024).
- The final Being Open Framework states that it does not introduce a statutory or legal duty of candour, that Northern Ireland has no statutory organisational duty of candour, and that legislation was still being developed at launch (Being Open Framework, Department of Health Northern Ireland, 19 February 2026).
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Response — verbatim from government
●Northern Ireland Executive
The Department of Health is taking forward legislation for a statutory duty of candour. Public consultation was held in 2020-2021. Legislation is being prepared as part of broader healthcare reforms.
Northern Ireland Executive · 1 Mar 2018 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 19 Feb 2026 · Department of Health Northern Ireland The final Being Open Framework does not introduce the statutory organisational duty of candour recommended by the Inquiry. View source → Not Implemented
- 6 Feb 2026 · NI Assembly / Department of Health NI NI remains the only part of the UK without a statutory duty of candour 8 years after it was recommended. Still in consultation phase with no Bill introduced by the Department. View source → Not Implemented
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.