Duty of candour 'should be extended to care home staff'

The statutory duty of candour recommended in the wake of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust scandal should not be limited to hospital nurses.

That is the view of Jeremy Hunt, who has said it should be extended to include all staff and helpers who deal with vulnerable patients, the Daily Telegraph reports.

It is hoped the regulation would encourage staff in NHS hospitals to highlight care failings quicker and make it easier for them to report incidents in an effort to afford a repeat of the situation at Stafford Hospital, where sustained neglect and poor care led to 1,200 unnecessary deaths.

"I can't really see why one would want to introduce a duty of candour that didn't apply more broadly," the health secretary stated.

Care minister Norman Lamb said a culture of "absolute openness" across the entire healthcare sector is required to ensure poor standards of care are recognised and rooted out at the earliest stage possible.

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