Organisational Duty of Candour: non-statutory guidance - revised March 2025

11. Multi-Organisation Involvement

A range of organisations may be involved in the episode of treatment or care where the unexpected or unintended incident occurred. Although organisations are not responsible persons if the health, care or social service was not received from them, they may need to provide information as part of a review or support for the relevant person coping with the impact of the incident(s). For Health Boards, the Updated Multi-board Review Process guidance may be of help (available on the Adverse Events’ Community of Practice which can be requested by emailing: his.adverseevents@nhs.scot).

In rare circumstances, several responsible persons may each decide to activate the organisational duty of candour procedure for the same incident. In such circumstances, responsible persons should communicate with each other, emphasise co-operation, ensure a co-ordinated approach in their communications with the relevant person, and share learning and necessary actions. The aim of the organisational duty of candour is to implement improvements and share learning within the local and national context, to support quality health and social care for people in Scotland. This should include the timely sharing of information between responsible persons.

A relevant person must be informed, through the notification process, by the responsible person who will carry out the procedure. That will serve to inform the relevant person which organisation(s) are involved.