The Duty of Candour

Openness and honesty should be at the heart of every relationship between those providing treatment and care and those experiencing it.

In the NHS, we strive to provide high quality, safe and compassionate care to all of our service users. However, even when we do our best, people may sometimes experience harm. That’s why we have the Duty of Candour.

Our goal is to create a culture of trust and openness, so that you can feel confident in the care you receive from us.

The Duty of Candour is a legal requirement for NHS Organisations in Wales to be open and honest with service users receiving care and treatment. This is outlined in the Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020.

The Duty of Candour applies if the care we provide has, or may have contributed to unexpected or unintended moderate or severe harm, or death.

This duty builds on our Putting Things Right process for raising concerns or complaints.

You do not need to contact us about the Duty of Candour. We will contact you if the Duty of Candour applies to your care and treatment. You should continue to use our Putting Things Right process for raising concerns or complaints.

Find out more about the Duty of Candour:

More information about the Duty of Candour is available from the Welsh Government website