Duty of Candour (Being Open)!

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1558595409249{background-image: url(http://ninzio.com/bauer/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/section-bg1-1.png?id=7977) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}” el_id=”first-row”][vc_column][spacing desktop_height=”94″ mobile_height=”60″ smobile_height=”60″][advtext alignment=”text-center” tag=”div” color=”#777777″ max_width=”750px” font_size=”18px” line_height=”30px”]

Duty of Candour (Being Open)

Definition

Candour is defined as: ‘The volunteering of all relevant information to persons who have or may have been harmed by the provision of services, whether or not the information has been requested and whether or not a complaint or a report about that provision has been made’

Policy Statement

The policy sets out the approach of this Care Contact to meeting its statutory requirements to be open and transparent with its service users if it makes mistakes when providing care and treatment that result in their suffering moderate or serious harm

Content

It is broadly acknowledged that care is not risk free hence providers must endeavour to be being open and transparent. Service users, families and carers usually understand this and want to know not only that every effort has been made to put things right, but every effort is made to prevent similar incidents from happening again to someone else.

Care Contact will ensure an honest and open culture exists across and at all levels within the organisation, and it will ensure that systems are in place for reporting notifiable safety incidents and informing relevant person(s) in a timely manner when such an incident has occurred.

The Being Open principles and ethical duty of openness apply to all incidents and any failure in care or treatment. The Duty of Candour applies to incidents whereby moderate harm, significant harm or death has occurred.

This policy should be read in conjunction with our:

• Accidents and Incidents Reporting policy
• Risk Assessments Policy
• Clinical Governance policy
• Record Keeping Policy

What is the Duty of Candour?

Care Contact understands that it must always act in an open and transparent way with service users and the people closely involved in their care. This is reflected in our Statement of Purpose and our Leadership and Management policy and in all of the service’s relationships with its users and others involved in their care and treatment.

Care Contact understands that it owes a duty of candour particularly when things go wrong with the service users’ care. Thus, it recognises that whenever an incident has occur, we must notify the necessary authorities like the social services, Care Quality Commissions (CQC) and others

In addition;

• be open with the service user and other relevant persons about the incident
• provide suitable support to the service user and others affected by the incident
• explain directly and in person to the service user and / or their representatives exactly what has happened
• apologise, for example express sorrow and regret for what has happened
• say what is being done to investigate and learn the lessons from what has happened and further actions that might be taken
• undertake to put in writing what has happened and the apology
• keep full records of the incident, including all associated correspondence and the actions that have been taken to carry out the duty of candour with the service user and / or representatives.

Approach

Care Contact understands that the incidents to which a specific duty of candour is owed (as opposed to the general duty to act openly and transparently) are those described in the duty of candour Regulation 20.9, ie unintended or unexpected incidents that might occur in the delivery of the care service that: “in the reasonable opinion of a health care professional appears to have resulted in:

• the death of the service user, where the death relates directly to the incident rather than to the natural course of the service user’s illness or underlying condition,
• an impairment of the sensory, motor or intellectual functions of the service user which has lasted, or is likely to last, for a continuous period of at least 28 days,
• changes to the structure of the service user’s body,
• the service user experiencing prolonged pain or prolonged psychological harm, or the shortening of the life expectancy of the service user; or requires treatment by a health care professional in order to prevent:
• the death of the service user, or
• any injury to the service user which, if left untreated, would lead to one or more of the outcomes” described in (a) above.

Staff Conduct

Care Contact expects its staff in line with their professional code of conduct to apply a duty of candour in all of their work with service users. It requires them:

• to be open and honest
• to admit mistakes where they occur
• to apologise for them
• to put matters right promptly and
• to follow all applicable reporting and recording procedures.

Care Contact will take appropriate disciplinary action if there is evidence that staff committing mistakes are doing so in breach of their professional code of conduct.

Training

Staff training covers the service ethos of openness and transparency, individual responsibilities to act in open and transparent ways and the procedures which the service will follow in exercising its duty of candour following incidents that fall within its scope.

Monitoring and Review

• The Company Secretary will check this policy is working properly and they will review it at least once a year. We will make improvements to the policy wherever we can.
• Care Staff are invited to suggest any ways the policy can be improved.
• This policy does not form part of any employee’s contract of employment, and it may be amended at any time.

[/advtext][spacing desktop_height=”70″ mobile_height=”40″ smobile_height=”40″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_video][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][spacing desktop_height=”70″ mobile_height=”40″ smobile_height=”40″][vc_column_text]

We keep you in control and provide you with the home care services and support you want, where and when you want it. It’s your life and your care, so it must be your way.

[/vc_column_text][spacing desktop_height=”70″ mobile_height=”40″ smobile_height=”40″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][spacing desktop_height=”70″ mobile_height=”40″ smobile_height=”40″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][spacing desktop_height=”70″ mobile_height=”40″ smobile_height=”40″][/vc_column][/vc_row]