Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) a listening culture in the NHS, (b) families to provide feedback to NHS trusts and (c) NHS trusts to apologise to patients where neccesary.

There are a range of routes for patients to provide feedback, including a National Health Service-wide complaints system, the Friends and Family Test, Patient Advice and Liaison Service and patient surveys.

Under the statutory duty of candour, NHS organisations are legally required to act openly and transparently, to provide patients with an accurate account of incidences and to apologise when a notifiable safety incident occurs in the course of a patient’s care. In addition, NHS Resolution has issued the guidance ‘Saying sorry’ and ‘Being fair’ to organisations.