Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023

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Notifiable incident disclosure meeting

18. (1) A health services provider shall, subject to section 14 , make arrangements—

(a) to meet with the patient or relevant person (or both of them), or

(b) where the patient or a relevant person has (or both of them have) made a request under section 17 , to hold the meeting other than in person,

for the purpose of making an open disclosure of a notifiable incident in respect of which the patient, or patient to whom the relevant person is connected, is the subject of the notifiable incident (in this Act referred to as an “notifiable incident disclosure meeting”).

(2) When making an open disclosure of a notifiable incident at a notifiable incident disclosure meeting, a health services provider—

(a) shall provide the patient, or the relevant person (or both of them), with the information specified in subsection (3), which, having regard to section 14 , the health services provider has in its possession, at the time the notifiable incident disclosure meeting is held,

(b) may provide the information specified in subsection (3)—

(i) orally, and

(ii) in the order in which the health services provider considers appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances of the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) and the notifiable incident concerned,

(c) shall, in accordance with section 24 , give the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) a copy of the statement referred to in subsection (5), and

(d) shall give the statement referred to in section 11 (1) to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) in accordance with section 24 .

(3) The information, referred to in subsection (2), that is to be provided in accordance with that subsection shall be as follows:

(a) the names of the persons present at the notifiable incident disclosure meeting;

(b) a description of the notifiable incident concerned;

(c) the date on which—

(i) the notifiable incident occurred (if known), and

(ii) the notifiable incident came to the notice of the health services provider;

(d) the manner in which the notifiable incident came to the notice of the health services provider;

(e) where, in the opinion of the health services provider, physical or psychological consequences of the notifiable incident which, at the time of the notifiable incident disclosure meeting is held, are present or have developed, information in respect of those consequences;

(f) where the health services provider has reasonable grounds for believing that, in addition to the consequences referred to in paragraph (e)—

(i) physical or psychological consequences which, at the time of the notifiable incident disclosure meeting is held, have not presented, or developed, but which, notwithstanding such absence, the health services provider has such grounds for believing they are likely to present or develop at any time after the notifiable incident disclosure meeting, information in respect of those consequences, and

(ii) physical or psychological consequences which, at the time of the notifiable incident disclosure meeting have not presented, or developed, and which the health services provider has such grounds for believing they are less likely or unlikely to present or develop at any time after the holding of the notifiable incident disclosure meeting, information in respect of those consequences;

(g) where the health services provider has reasonable grounds for believing that no physical or psychological consequences are likely to present or develop from the notifiable incident, a statement to that effect;

(h) where, at the time of the notifiable incident disclosure meeting—

(i) any physical or psychological consequences arising from the notifiable incident have presented, or developed, and

(ii) the patient is under the clinical care of the health services provider concerned,

the health services provider shall provide the patient with information in respect of the treatment, and relevant clinical care, that the provider is providing (or proposes to provide) to the patient to address those consequences;

(i) having regard to the consideration, by the health services provider, of the notifiable incident—

(i) the actions the health services provider has taken, or proposes to take, and

(ii) procedures or processes to be implemented,

in order to, in so far as it is reasonably open to that provider to do so, address the knowledge the provider has obtained from its consideration of that incident and the circumstances giving rise to it.

(4) Where, pursuant to section 15 (1)(c), the health services provider has determined that an apology is to be made to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them), that health services provider may, at the notifiable incident disclosure meeting, make the apology to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) in respect of the notifiable incident.

(5) The statement referred to in subsection (2)(c) that is to be given to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) in accordance with that subsection shall—

(a) be in writing,

(b) set out the information, specified in subsection (3), provided to the patient or the relevant person (or both of them) in accordance with subsection (2),

(c) contain an apology referred to in subsection (4) where such apology was made,

(d) state that the open disclosure of the notifiable incident was made pursuant to section 5 (1),

(e) specify the date on which the open disclosure of the notifiable incident was made,

(f) state that the notifiable incident disclosure meeting was held in compliance with section 5 (1), and

(g) be signed in accordance with subsection (6).

(6) The statement referred to in subsection (5), shall be signed by—

(a) the principal health practitioner, or

(b) the health practitioner referred to in section 13 (2),

who made the open disclosure of the notifiable incident on behalf of the health services provider.

(7) The health services provider shall keep, in the records referred to in section 25 , the statement referred to in subsection (5).