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Duty of Candour

What difference would it make within the NI health service, and why is it taking so long?

If a doctor or a nurse makes a mistake with your care, or the care of a loved one, you would expect to be told about it. But putting in place a process where there is a duty of candour within the health service is proving extremely difficult. Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK or Ireland not to have one. The Hyponatraemia inquiry into the deaths of five children in hospital put the focus on the need for it. The inquiry chair Mr Justice O'Hara said some of the witnesses had to have the truth dragged out of them. The health minister says he hopes to introduce one in before the next Assembly election, but why is it so challenging? Audrey Carville is joined by Deirdre Heenan (professor of social policy at Ulster University) and Peter McBride (an independent consultant who has been working with the Department of Health on building a framework for a duty of candour).

Also on the programme, we find out what drove three people to make a leap into the unknown with big career changes. Declan Lawn renounced journalism and became an award-winning TV writer. Dr Niamh Shaw started out in engineering, veered into acting, and finally ended up studying the universe. Deborah Sloan left behind the corporate life and became an author: her book is aptly titled 'Everything I Know about Leaving'.Cognitive psychologist Dr Sara Lorimer is on hand to explain how humans handle this.

We get reaction from the MET Police raid on Westminster Quaker Meeting Place. Are churches ever places of sanctuary in the 21st century?

And fact checkers Peter Cunliffe-Jones (founded Africa Check) and Dr Orna Young (FactCheckNI) discuss the harm caused by fake news.

14 days left to listen

1 hour, 27 minutes

Last on

Sun 6 Apr 2025 08:30

Broadcast

  • Sun 6 Apr 2025 08:30