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

8. Communication with Relevant Person

Organisations must take reasonable steps to find out each relevant person’s preferred method of communication and, where reasonably practicable, communicate with the relevant person by this method. They must also ensure that communication with each relevant person is in a manner that they can understand. Organisations should ensure the relevant person is directly informed about the incident at the earliest opportunity; they should not learn about it from media coverage.

Failed attempts to communicate with a relevant person do not relieve organisations of the responsibility to provide the relevant person with information on the process and progress of the review. They should continue to attempt contact, and a log of all attempts at contact should be maintained by the organisation.

Things to consider:

Do you have any knowledge currently about the relevant person’s preferred method of communication?

If the organisation does not know the relevant person's preferred communication method, a range of communication channels should be used for initial contact. Once contact is established, the organisation should discuss with the relevant person what their preferred method of communication is, as well as what steps need to be taken in the organisational duty of candour procedure.

If an organisation is unable to contact a relevant person, or a relevant person does not wish to speak with a representative of the organisation, the attempts made to contact them must be included as part of the written record of the organisational duty of candour procedure for the incident.

It is important to note that the relevant person has the right to opt out of being informed about the procedure. The organisation should respect their wishes. Organisations should not provide information where the relevant person has indicated that they do not wish to receive information.

The 2018 Regulations state that organisations must not disclose any information that would prejudice any criminal investigation or prosecution or contravene any restriction on disclosure arising by virtue of an enactment or rule of law. Organisations may wish to obtain legal advice if they are concerned this may be the case.

8.1 Implications if a claim for compensation is made

Whilst it would not be appropriate for an organisation to try to prevent a relevant person from making a claim, organisations can suggest that the relevant person may wish to wait until the organisational duty of candour procedure has concluded. By the end of the procedure, their case will have been investigated, they will have received an apology, the facts will have been established, and any actions to improve the quality of care and/or learning will have been identified.

If a relevant person mentions that they are considering making a claim, the organisational duty of candour procedure should continue. If a relevant person makes a claim (i.e., the organisation receives formal notification of commencement of legal proceedings), then some elements of the organisational duty of candour procedure may need to be paused until the legal process reaches a conclusion. For example, internal reviews could still proceed, and organisations should still try to identify any potential improvement and learning actions, whereas it may not be appropriate to contact a relevant person following an early apology.

In the event of a claim or potential claim, local legal advice should be sought regarding the appropriate steps to take.