Clinical Practice: Safety and Quality

This guidance will assist registrants to meet the expectations of the Code of Professional Practice in relation to the Duty of Candour.

It covers:

• The professional duty of candour
• Discussing risk
• When something goes wrong
• Apologies
• Near misses
• Encouraging a culture of safety and candour
• Safety systems

The Joint Regulator Statement on the Professional Duty of Candour sets expectations for how healthcare professionals should act when things go wrong.

This joint statement was agreed in 2014 by eight statutory regulators overseen by the Professional Standards Authority.

An honest and transparent approach when treating patients is critical to building a successful and professional practitioner-patient relationship. This means when something goes wrong with a patient’s treatment or care which causes, or has the potential to cause, harm or distress a practitioner truthfully explains what has happened, offers an apology and provides a suitable remedy or reasonable support to the patient.

Being candid and open throughout a patient’s treatment is not only a requirement outlined in the Code of Professional Practice (C11) but is an approach that is welcomed and valued by patients.

This toolkit provides registrants with practical suggestions to help them explore the professional duty of candour as well as the importance of a learning culture of candour within the workplace.

This guidance will assist registrants to meet the expectations of the Code of Professional Practice in relation to First Aid.

It covers:

• Making an effective referral when medical emergency is suspected
• Assessing your own first aid needs and the needs of others who work with you
• Selecting an appropriate first aid course provider

The mandatory duty to report female genital mutilation (FGM) cases to the police came into effect in England and Wales on 31 October 2015. It applies to all registered healthcare professionals, including chiropractors.

All chiropractors should familiarise themselves with the government’s guidance and resources. Under the legislation, failure to comply with the duty may result in a Fitness to Practise investigation.

The duty applies:

• where a chiropractor, in the course of their work, is informed directly by a girl that an act of FGM has been carried out on her
• where a chiropractor observes physical signs which appear to show an act of FGM has been carried out and has no reason to believe that the act was necessary for the girl’s physical or mental health or for purposes connected with labour or birth
• to girls who are under 18 at the time that FGM is observed or disclosed. It does not apply if the health professional only suspects that FGM may have been carried out.

While the duty is limited to the specific circumstances described above, chiropractors should consider their wider safeguarding responsibilities in line with standard A6 of the GCC Code of Professional Practice.

Regional guidance for:

• registrants in Scotland
• registrants in Northern Ireland.