Explain How Duty of Care Relates to Duty of Candour

1.2 Explain How Duty of Care Relates to Duty of Candour

Duty of care and candour are both crucial to ensure safe, trustworthy and ethical professional practice, most importantly in the healthcare sector. So, understanding how they relate to each other will help you clarify what professionals owe to those they serve, not limited to doing things right, but also being honest when things go awry.

What Is Duty of Care?

Duty of care, in simple terms, means an individual or corporation must take responsibility to take reasonable steps to avoid causing any harm to other individuals. It is both a legal and moral obligation to act with care, especially when your actions can have adverse effects on someone's health or safety. To put it simply, you must act like a "reasonable or sensible person" in similar situations.

For example:

• A nurse must follow the proper medical process so as not to harm the patients.
• A driver must heed traffic rules to avoid accidents.
• If someone ignores their duty and causes harm to anyone, whether injury or damage, then they will be held legally liable.

a. Where Does Duty of Care Come From? (Origin & Legal Basis)

• The concept comes from tort law, a part of civil law that deals with personal wrongdoings, like negligence. This notion became widely popular after the infamous UK case Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932).
•  It is also part of professional standards, similar to those followed by doctors, teachers, nurses and lawyers.
• If any person breaks this duty and hurts someone, legal action will be initiated against them, such as a negligence claim.

b. Key Features of Duty of Care

•  Basis: Duty of care is based on tort law and shaped by professional standards. It was first recognised in the case of Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932). It also forms the foundation of modern negligence law, ensuring individuals and organisations are held responsible for their actions if they cause harm.
•  Focus: To ensure people act responsibly and reasonably in circumstances where their actions can cause harm to others.Its objective is to prevent harm, foster trust, and promote accountability in both public and professional life.
•  Scope: This principle applies to many fields:

1.  Healthcare- Doctors, nurses and hospitals have a duty towards patients
2.  Education- Teachers have a duty to act reasonably towards students
3.  Workplace- Employers must keep the environment safe for employees
4.  Legal and Professional Services- Lawyers and accountants give honest advice to their clients
5.  Daily Life- Drivers must drive carefully so as not to cause accidents

•  Foreseeability: You must be able to predict that your actions might cause harm or injury to others.
•  Standard of Care: You must act in a way that a competent person would if put in a similar situation.
•  Violation of Duty: If you fail to meet the standard of care, it is known as a breach.
•  Harm or Injury: The individual must have suffered actual harm, loss or injury as the direct result of the breach.

What Is Duty of Candour?

Duty of candour means being honest, transparent and open when something goes awry in the services or care provided, most especially, if it could or causes harm to an individual.

It demands that professionals and organisations acknowledge their mistakes and inform the affected individual, apologise and explain as to what went wrong and what actions will be taken to stop it from happening again.

For instance:

If a doctor gives the wrong medicine to the patient and it causes side effects, then they must inform him, apologise and take steps to correct their mistake.

a. Where Does Duty of Candour Come From? (Origin & Legal / Ethical Basis)

Duty of candour has both an ethical and a legal base.

•  In countries like the UK, it is enforced through statutory regulations, such as the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
•  It is also a part of professional code of conduct, like GMC, NMC and others.
•  Both these bodies expect professionals to take accountability and be honest with patients when things go haywire.

b. Key Features of Duty of Candour

•  Basis: This principle is grounded in healthcare law and professional ethics, which aim to ensure honesty and accountability in care settings.
•  Focus: The primary purpose is to make individuals and organisations more transparent about their mistakes that caused harm. It encourages to learn from mistakes and not hiding them.
•  Scope: It is applicable in numerous settings:

1.  Healthcare: Patients in hospitals and clinics
2.  Social Care: Residents living in care homes
3.  High-Risk Professions: Clients getting professional help

Key Attributes Include:

• Openness: You must be honest about as to what happened and not hide facts.
• Apology: Saying sorry in a meaningful way.
• Transparency: Explain clearly as to what went wrong and why
• Support: Helping individuals who are dealing with the consequences of your action
•  Explanation: Providing a complete and truthful account of what happened

c. When Is Duty of Candour Triggered?

The duty of candour is triggered when:

•  An incident happened and it causes, or is most likely to cause, minimal or severe harm to a patient or service user.
•  An error is made and discovered while treatment or under care.
•  A near miss or risk of harm is recognised that could have had severe consequences.

Once triggered, the professional and corporation must inform the affected person or their family members as quickly as possible and must also have an account in writing.

This is all about the meaning and key features of both principles. Now, let's move to the next step and describe how duty of care relates to candour.

How Does Duty of Care Relate to Duty of Candour?

After learning about both the duty of care and duty of candour, meaning, scope, focus and key features, it is time to see how they relate to each other. Knowing the relation between the two will also help you to understand how they intersect with each other and are similar in some aspects. So, let's see how duty of care relates to duty of candour.

Shared Goal of Safe Practice

In both scenarios, the goal is to ensure the security, safety and well-being of people by supplying high-quality and responsible care while also being honest when things go sideways.

Promoting Accountability

In case of duty of care, professionals are held responsible to prevent harm, while under duty of candour, professionals are held accountable for being open and honest after some harm or error has occurred.

Supporting Ethical Practice

Together, both principles cement the ethical responsibility to act in a manner that is in the best interest of others. It is done by providing safe services and by being honest and repentant when those services fail.

Establishing Trust

While acting with care and by also being truthful about errors, both professionals and organisations develop and preserve public trust, especially in fields like education and healthcare. 

Encouraging Learning from Mistakes

Duty of candour complements duty of care by building a culture where errors are acknowledged. It helps in preventing future breaches of care and also improves overall practice.

Legal and Professional Integration

Both duties are grounded in the professional code of conduct and legal structures. It means organisations and individuals both must follow these rules in order to stay compliant and uphold industry standards.

So, this is the correct way to describe how duty of care relates to duty of candour. At the core of both principles, honesty and duty to prevent any harm to others stand firm. If you want to know about both these topics, you can also seek assistance from an assignment helper.

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