Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023

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Clarification of information provided at Part 5 review disclosure meeting or additional Part 5 review information provided at additional Part 5 review information meeting

54. (1) A patient or relevant person (or both of them) to whom an open disclosure of a Part 5 review was made, may, at any time after the Part 5 review disclosure meeting, or the additional Part 5 review information meeting as the case may be, make a request, to the designated person, for the clarification of—

(a) any information provided to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) at the Part 5 review disclosure meeting, or

(b) any additional Part 5 review information provided to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) at the additional Part 5 review information meeting,

and may request that the clarification be made other than in person.

(2) Where a request is made under subsection (1)—

(a) in the case of a request for clarification of the information provided at the Part 5 disclosure meeting, the designated person shall—

(i) as soon as practicable, inform the person who, pursuant to section 44 , made the open disclosure of the Part 5 review or where the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, of the request, and

(ii) liaise with the person, or the health practitioner, referred to in subparagraph (i) in relation to the provision of a response to the request,

(b) in the case of a request for clarification of the additional Part 5 review information provided at the additional Part 5 review information meeting, the designated person shall—

(i) as soon as practicable, inform the person who, pursuant to section 52 , provided the additional Part 5 review information at that meeting or, where the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, of the request, and

(ii) liaise with the person, or the health practitioner, referred to in subparagraph (i) in relation to the provision of a response to the request,

(c) in the case of a request for clarification of the information provided at the Part 5 review disclosure meeting, the person who, pursuant to section 44 , made the open disclosure of the Part 5 review at the Part 5 review disclosure meeting, or where the conditions referred to in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, shall—

(i) provide the clarification to the patient or relevant person (or both of them), in so far as it is reasonably open to him or her to do so having regard to the information available to him or her at the time at which he or she provides the clarification, and

(ii) liaise with the designated person in relation to the provision of the clarification referred to in subparagraph (i),

(d) in the case of a request for clarification of additional Part 5 review information provided at an additional Part 5 review information meeting, the person who, pursuant to section 52 provided the additional Part 5 review information at that meeting, or where the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, shall—

(i) provide the clarification to the patient or relevant person (or both of them) in so far as it is reasonably open to him or her to do so having regard to the information available to him or her at the time at which he or she provides the clarification, and

(ii) liaise with the designated person in relation to the provision of the clarification referred to in subparagraph (i),

and

(e) the designated person shall—

(i) set out, in a statement in writing—

(I) the request for clarification made under subsection (1) and whether it was requested that the clarification be made other than in person, and

(II) the date on which the clarification requested under subsection (1) was provided,

and

(ii) keep, in the records referred to in section 56 , the statement referred to in subparagraph (i).

(3) For the purposes of providing the clarification requested under subsection (1), the person who, pursuant to section 44 , made the open disclosure of the Part 5 review at the Part 5 review disclosure meeting, the person who, pursuant to section 52 , provided the additional Part 5 review information at the additional Part 5 review information meeting, or, where the conditions referred to in subsection (4) are satisfied, a health practitioner referred to in that subsection, as the case may be—

(a) may provide that clarification orally, and

(b) shall, in accordance with section 55 , give a copy of the statement in writing referred to in subsection (5) to—

(i) the designated person, and

(ii) the patient or relevant person (or both of them) who made the request under subsection (1).

(4) Where a request is made under subsection (1) and the person who—

(a) pursuant to section 44 , made the open disclosure of the Part 5 review at the Part 5 review disclosure meeting, or

(b) pursuant to section 52 , provided the additional Part 5 review information at the additional Part 5 review information meeting, is not available to provide the clarification requested under subsection (1)—

(i) the designated person shall notify the health services provider, and

(ii) the clarification shall be provided by a health practitioner whom the health services provider, having considered the Part 5 review concerned, considers appropriate.

(5) The statement referred to in subsection (3)(b) that is to be given, in accordance with that subsection, to the persons specified in that subsection, shall—

(a) set out the information provided in the clarification,

(b) specify the date on which the clarification was provided to the persons referred to in subsection (3), and

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

(6) The statement referred to in subsection (5) shall be signed by the person who provided the clarification.

(7) The health services provider shall keep, in the records referred to in section 56 , the statement referred to in subsection (5).

(8) Section 41 shall apply to—

(a) information provided in a clarification made to a patient or relevant person (or both of them) pursuant to a request made under subsection (1) in the same way as that section applies to information provided to a patient or relevant person (or both of them) at a Part 5 review disclosure meeting or an additional Part 5 review information meeting as the case may be, and

(b) the statement in writing referred to in—

(i) subsection (2)(e), and

(ii) subsection (5),

in the same way as that section applies to the statement referred to in section 49 (5).