Duty of candour
All health and social care services in Scotland have a duty of candour. This is a legal requirement. When unintended or unexpected events happen that result in death, or harm, as defined in the Act, the individuals affected are given information to help them understand what has happened, receive an apology, and organisations use this to learn how to improve for the future.
An important part of this duty is that an annual report is prepared, published and provided to the Care Inspectorate in respect of how the duty of candour is implemented within services.
The duty started on 1 April 2018. Reports have been published annually since that date.