Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017

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Clarification of information provided at open disclosure meeting and additional information provided at additional information meeting

19. (1) A patient or relevant person (or both of them) to whom an open disclosure of a patient safety incident was made, may, at any time after the open disclosure meeting, or the additional information meeting as the case may be, make a request, to the designated person, for the clarification of—

(a) any information provided to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) at the open disclosure meeting, or

(b) any additional information provided to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) at the additional information meeting.

(2) Where a request is made under subsection (1)—

(a) in the case of a request for clarification of the information provided at the open disclosure meeting, the designated person shall—

(i) as soon as practicable, inform the person who, pursuant to section 13 , made the open disclosure of the patient safety incident, or where the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, of the request, and

(ii) liaise with the person, or the health practitioner, referred to in subparagraph (i) in relation to the provision of a response to the request,

(b) in the case of a request for clarification of the additional information provided at the additional information meeting, the designated person shall—

(i) as soon as practicable, inform the person who, pursuant to section 18 , provided the additional information at that meeting or, where the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, of the request, and

(ii) liaise with the person, or the health practitioner, referred to in subparagraph (i) in relation to the provision of a response to the request,

(c) in the case of a request for clarification of the information provided at the open disclosure meeting, the person who, pursuant to section 13 , made the open disclosure of the patient safety incident at the open disclosure meeting, or where the conditions referred to in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, shall—

(i) provide the clarification to the patient or relevant person (or both of them), in so far as it is reasonably open to him or her to do so having regard to the information available to him or her at the time he or she provides the clarification, and

(ii) liaise with the designated person in relation to the provision of the clarification referred to in subparagraph (i),

(d) in the case of a request for clarification of additional information provided at an additional information meeting, the person who, pursuant to section 18 , provided the additional information at the additional information meeting, or where the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, shall—

(i) provide the clarification to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) in so far as it is reasonably open to him or her to do so having regard to the information available to him or her at the time he or she provides the clarification, and

(ii) liaise with the designated person in relation to the provision of the clarification referred to in subparagraph (i),

and

(e) the designated person shall—

(i) set out, in a statement in writing, in the prescribed form—

(I) the request for clarification made under subsection (1), and

(II) the date on which the clarification requested under subsection (1) was provided,

and

(ii) keep, in the records referred to in section 21 , the statement in writing referred to in subparagraph (i).

(3) For the purposes of providing the clarification requested under subsection (1), the person who, pursuant to section 13 , made the open disclosure of the patient safety incident at the open disclosure meeting, the person who, pursuant to section 18 , provided the additional information at the additional information meeting, or, where the conditions referred to in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, as the case may be—

(a) may provide that clarification orally, and

(b) shall give a copy of the statement in writing referred to in subsection (5) to—

(i) the designated person, and

(ii) the patient or relevant person (or both of them) who made the request under subsection (1).

(4) Where a request is made under subsection (1) and the person who—

(a) pursuant to section 13 , made the open disclosure of the patient safety incident at the open disclosure meeting, or

(b) pursuant to section 18 , provided the additional information at the additional information meeting,

is not available to provide the clarification requested under subsection (1)—

(i) the designated person shall notify the health services provider, and

(ii) the clarification shall be provided by a health practitioner whom the health services provider, having considered the patient safety incident concerned, considers appropriate.

(5) The statement in writing referred to in subsection (3)(b) that is to be given, in accordance with that subsection, to the persons specified in that subsection, shall—

(a) be in the prescribed form,

(b) set out the information provided in the clarification,

(c) specify the date on which the clarification was provided to the persons referred to in subsection (3), and

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

(6) The statement in writing referred to in subsection (5) shall be signed by the person who provided the clarification.

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

(8) Section 10 shall apply to—

(a) information provided in a clarification made to a patient or relevant person (or both of them) pursuant to a request made under subsection (1) in the same way as that section applies to information provided to a patient or relevant person (or both of them) at an open disclosure meeting or an additional information meeting as the case may be, and

(b) the statement in writing referred to in—

(i)subsection (2)(e), and

(ii)subsection (5),

in the same way as that section applies to the statement referred to in section 16 (5).