Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017

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Open disclosure meeting

16. (1) A health services provider shall, subject to section 15 , make arrangements—

(a) to meet with a patient or a relevant person (or both of them), or

(b) where it is not practicable for a patient or a relevant person (or both of them) to attend at a meeting with the provider, for that patient or person (or both of them) to be contacted by telephone (or other similar method of communication),

for the purpose of making an open disclosure of a patient safety incident in respect of which the patient, or patient to whom the relevant person is connected, is the subject (in this Part referred to as an “open disclosure meeting”).

(2) When making an open disclosure of a patient safety incident at an open disclosure meeting, a health services provider—

(a) shall provide the patient, or the relevant person (or both of them), with the information specified in subsection (3), which, having regard to section 14 , the health services provider has in its possession at the time the open disclosure meeting is held,

(b) may provide the information specified in subsection (3)—

(i) orally, and

(ii) in the order in which the health services provider considers appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances of the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) and the patient safety incident concerned,

(c) shall give the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) a copy of the statement in writing referred to in subsection (5) or, in the case of an open disclosure meeting referred to in subsection (1)(b), shall deliver a copy of that statement to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) as soon as practicable after the meeting, and

(d) shall provide the statement referred to in section 11 (1) to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) or, in the case of an open disclosure meeting referred to in subsection (1)(b), shall deliver that statement to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) as soon as practicable after the meeting.

(3) The information referred to in subsection (2) to be provided in accordance with that subsection shall be as follows:

(a) the names of the persons present at the open disclosure meeting;

(b) a description of the patient safety incident concerned;

(c) the date on which—

(i) the patient safety incident occurred, and

(ii) the patient safety incident came to the notice of the health services provider;

(d) the manner in which the patient safety incident came to the notice of the health services provider;

(e) where, in the opinion of the health services provider, physical or psychological consequences of the patient safety incident which, at the time the open disclosure meeting is held, are present or have developed, information in respect of those consequences;

(f) where the health services provider has reasonable grounds for believing that, in addition to the consequences referred to in paragraph (e), further physical or psychological consequences of the patient safety incident are likely to present or develop, information in respect of—

(i) the physical or psychological consequences which, at the time the open disclosure meeting is held, have not presented, or developed, but which, notwithstanding such absence, the health services provider reasonably believes are likely to present or develop at any time after the open disclosure meeting, and

(ii) the physical or psychological consequences which, at the time of the open disclosure meeting, have not presented, or developed, and which the health services provider reasonably believes are less likely or unlikely to present or develop at any time after the holding of the open disclosure meeting;

(g) where the health services provider has reasonable grounds for believing that no physical or psychological consequences are likely to present or develop from the patient safety incident, a statement to that effect;

(h) where, at the time of the open disclosure meeting—

(i) any physical or psychological consequences arising from the patient safety incident have presented, or developed, and

(ii) the patient is under the clinical care of the health services provider concerned,

the health services provider shall provide the patient with information in respect of the treatment, and relevant clinical care, the provider is providing to the patient to address those consequences;

(i) having regard to the consideration, by the health services provider, of the patient safety incident—

(i) the actions the health services provider has taken, or proposes to take, and

(ii) procedures or processes to be implemented,

in order to, in so far as it is reasonably open to it to do so, address the knowledge the provider has obtained from its consideration of the patient safety incident and the circumstances giving rise to that incident.

(4) Where, pursuant to paragraph (c) of section 15 (1), the health services provider has determined that an apology is to be made to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them), the health services provider concerned may, at the open disclosure meeting, make the apology to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) in respect of that patient safety incident.

(5) The statement in writing referred to in subsection (2)(c),that is to be given to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) in accordance with that subsection, shall—

(a) be in the prescribed form,

(b) set out the information, specified in subsection (3), provided to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) in accordance with subsection (2),

(c) contain an apology referred to in subsection (4) where such apology was made,

(d) specify the day on which the open disclosure of the patient safety incident was made, and

(e) be signed in accordance with subsection (6).

(6) The statement in writing referred to in subsection (5), shall be signed by—

(a) the principal health practitioner, or

(b) the health practitioner referred to in section 13 (2),

who made the open disclosure of the patient safety incident on behalf of the health services provider.

(7) The health services provider shall keep, in the records referred to in section 21 , the statement referred to in subsection (5).