There has been much discussion over the years about open disclosure in medical settings, as when things have gone wrong, certain people have been left in the dark with respect to the what, the why and the how in respect of what has occurred.
The Civil Liability Open Disclosure Regulations of 2018 was introduced to provide for a framework within which open disclosures could be made. Both this said act and the HSEs 2013 open disclosure policy provided for a voluntary disclosures process.
Section 5 of the Patient Safey Act 2023 specifies an obligation to make an open disclosure of a notifiable incident.
| Where a health services provider is satisfied that a notifiable incident has occurred in the course of the provision by it of a health service to a patient, the health services provider shall, subject to sections 19 and 20 , hold a notifiable incident disclosure meeting in order to make the open disclosure of that notifiable incident to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) as specified in section 7 . | ||
| (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), where a health services provider is satisfied that a notifiable incident has occurred but— | ||
| (a) none, or not all, of the likely consequences of the notifiable incident have presented or developed, or | ||
| (b) not all of the information relating to the incident, including information relating to the cause of the incident, is available, | ||
| the health services provider shall make the open disclosure of the notifiable incident under subsection (1) notwithstanding the absence of some or all of those consequences or that information. | ||
If an apology is made, an open disclosure is made, this does not mean fault or liability is admitted.
The health practitioner must inform the health services of the notifiable incident.
Notifiable Incident
The act specifies at schedule 1 what incidents constitute a notifiable incident, which can be seen here.
Notifiable incident disclosure meeting
The health care provider must make an arrangement to meet with the patient in order to make an open disclosure of a notifiable incident regarding the patient.
Penalties
There are penalties for failing to comply with the provisions of the act and offences.
Kieran Cleary and Roger Cleary, Medical Negligence Solicitors can help with questions you may have regarding negligence, liability, case viability etc. and our numbers are (01) 546 1121 or (052) 612 1999 or our email address is info@clearysolicitors.com
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Disclaimer
Please be advised that the above-mentioned material is intended as an overview and as a broad out-line of the topic discussed. It should not be considered as complete and comprehensive legal advice, nor act as an appropriate substitute.
Due care has been taken in the publication of this article and we do not accept legal liability as a result of reliance on any material covered in the above article.