MDU advice

The MDU's adviser accepted that the consultant had wanted to talk to the patient in person about what had gone wrong, to offer a personal apology and explain he was going to rectify the error.

The problem was that he had not called her immediately and had delayed reporting the incident, which meant he had now been overtaken by events. The consultant would now need take steps to meet his professional obligations and show he had learned from what had happened.

Using the wrong lens during a cataract operation would constitute a notifiable patient safety incident under the statutory duty of candour, because the patient would experience an impairment of sensory functions and require additional treatment.

In addition, use of the wrong implant would be considered as a never event by NHS Improvement, and should be logged and reported through national reporting systems.

If this had not already happened, the consultant needed to report the adverse incident, ensuring it was logged as a never event and was being appropriately managed under duty of candour procedures.

The statutory duty of candour applied to the organisation and not individual staff, but he would be expected to co-operate; for example, by acting as the trust's representative in meetings with the patient, saying sorry to the patient, offering reasonable support and contributing to further inquiries. This aligned with his own ethical duty to be honest and open with patients about errors and to apologise.

In addition, the consultant was also advised to liaise with the complaints department to investigate and respond formally to the patient's specific concerns.

Complaints over candour

Complaints over candour