Medical staff who withhold information 'should face prosecution'

Healthcare staff who deliberately withhold information should face criminal prosecution in cases involving patient safety and deaths, according to Northern Ireland's human rights commissioner.

However, the British Medical Association does not agree that criminal sanctions should be linked with a duty of candour, and has said it would go against creating a culture of openness and transparency.Alan Roberts, whose daughter's death was examined by the Northern Ireland hyponatraemia inquiry which found there had been a "cover-up" into how she died, said doctors must be legally bound to tell the truth.

Mr Roberts said the Department of Health had been “dragging its feet” in implementing a duty of candour.Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the question was how to create a "regime that minimises the chill factor that deters individuals from being candid, and maximises willingness and responsibility to engage in an honest review of what went wrong".

“It hasn’t worked because the initial plans were all wrong and that was linking that complete sentence of duty of candour with criminal sanction," said Dr Stout. The senior judge said this should apply where "death or serious harm has been or may have been caused to a patient" and that "criminal liability should attach to breach of this duty".Alyson Kilpatrick said something had to give

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