The Department of Health and Social Care has issued terms of reference for its review into the duty of candour for health and social care providers in England.
This legal duty obliges health and social care providers to be open and transparent with people receiving care or treatment from them, and is set out in regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
The review will consider the design of the statutory duty of candour and its operation to assess its effectiveness and make advisory recommendations. It will focus on solutions where independent reports suggest the duty hasn’t been met as intended.
The review, which includes working with regulated providers and other stakeholders, will look at the extent to which the policy and its design are appropriate for the health and care system in England, honoured, monitored and enforced, and has met its objectives.
The duty of candour has applied to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts since 2014 and other CQC-regulated providers, including homecare providers, since 2015. The results of the review are expected in spring 2024.
Homecare Association members are welcome to send us their views on the duty of candour to [email protected], to assist our contribution to the review.
