Take Action | Have Your Say on the Department of Health's 'Being Open Framework' Consultation

Have Your Say on the Department of Health's 'Being Open Framework' Consultation

Take action today — fill in your details and send your submission to the Department of Health to support these urgent reforms.

Mental Health Rights

3/4/2025

The Department of Health is consulting on its draft Being Open Framework, but it falls short of what's needed. While it aims to improve culture within the health service, it effectively ignores the urgent need for a statutory Duty of Candour — a legal safeguard Northern Ireland still lacks, despite being recommended in 2018. Without this, history will repeat itself: cover-ups, defensiveness, and harm will continue unchecked.

We've seen the devastating consequences of inaction. Families deserve accountability, transparency, and justice. That's why we're demanding a legal Duty of Candour, independent oversight, and meaningful involvement for those affected by harm. Senior health leaders must be held to account to prevent future failures.

This is our chance to push for real change — but it won't happen unless we act. Add your voice today. Fill in your details, and we'll send your submission to the Department of Health, amplifying the call for these critical reforms. Together, we can make sure they listen.

See our analysis and recommendations in more detail.

Your name:

Your email address:

Your email:

Dear Department of Health,

I would be grateful if this email could be accepted and recorded as an official response to the Department of Health’s consultation on the Being Open Framework and Duty of Candour.

It is evident from the consultation document and the Minister of Health’s statements that the Duty of Candour aspect is being sidelined, with the emphasis instead on cultural change within the Health Service. This is both inadequate and unacceptable. Investigations into harm and deaths caused by the Health Service consistently reveal a culture of defensiveness, cover-ups, and obstruction — driven by unaccountable senior leadership over many decades. Without legislation, meaningful culture change will not happen.

A key recommendation of the 2018 Independent Hyponatraemia-Related Deaths Inquiry was the introduction of a statutory Duty of Candour for both organisations and individuals. Six years later, Northern Ireland remains the only jurisdiction without this legal duty, while Scotland, England, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland have all implemented it.

I am calling on the Department of Health to:

Introduce without delay a legal Duty of Candour that applies to both individuals and organisations.
Establish regulation for health service leaders and senior managers.
Ensure independent oversight of the Duty of Candour, with families who have experienced harm playing a central role in these mechanisms.

I urge the Department to take decisive action to ensure accountability and transparency in healthcare.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your name]

[Your email]

Answers to Consultation Questions

Q7 Do you think that the introduction of a statutory organisational Duty of Candour would support organisations in their development of a more open culture? YES

Q8 Do you think that the introduction of a statutory individual Duty of Candour would support individuals to be more open? YES

Q9 Do you think that including a ‘Duty of Candour’ clause in staff contracts will improve openness? YES

Q12 Would the introduction of an Independent Patient Safety Commissioner improve openness and patient safety? DON'T KNOW

The consultation document does not provide enough information on this role, including their role, powers, reporting and governance arrangements, to allow us to make an informed response to this question.

Please note: These answers relate to the Duty of Candour and independent oversight elements of the consultation only.