Pleased to hear plans of 'safe space' proposals were dropped
- 25.04.2017
- EmmaArnold
- Clinical-negligence, Clinical-negligence
Proposals to prevent evidence gathered by patient safety investigations to be published were dropped yesterday.
The Department of Health had previously proposed a so-called 'safe space' to protect findings from being disclosed even to the families of patients who were treated badly.
However, we agree with the argument from AvMA that there is no reason to hide relevant information from patients when they have suffered a medical mistake.
Gill Edwards, senior clinical negligence solicitor at PotterReesDolan, said:
It is reassuring to see that the government’s proposed “safe space” plan has been dropped in its current form. It flies in the face of the Duty of Candour which was designed to encourage openness between staff and patients when things go wrong.
The Duty of Candour is a legal obligation for a hospital to inform and apologise to patients if there was a mistake in the care they received and was introduced in November 2014.
With an aim to help patients receive accurate information, the Duty of Candour was put in place to reveal the truth about any clinical negligence suffered at the hands of a professional.
Gill Edwards added:
In most of the cases we deal with, there is still a culture of keeping important information from patients and their families in order to protect Trusts. Patients want to see that lessons are learned but the 'safe space' plan would be detrimental to this process.
The 'safe space' proposal would have prevented solicitors from obtaining essential information such as witness statements meaning people who have suffered medical negligence would find access to justice more difficult.
Gill Edwards is a senior clinical negligence solicitor with PotterReesDolan. Should you have any queries about clinical negligence issues or indeed any other aspect of this article and wish to speak to Gill or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888.