What duty of candour means in pharmacy practice

The professional duty of candour requires being open and honest with a patient or service user when their treatment or care has gone wrong, or may cause harm or distress. In pharmacy practice this duty is part of safe, professional care.

What the professional duty requires

• Tell the person when something has gone wrong
• Apologise
• Offer an appropriate remedy or support to put matters right where possible
• Explain the short and long-term effects of what has happened as clearly as you can
• Be open with colleagues, employers, and relevant organisations
• Take part in reviews and investigations and do not stop others from raising concerns

Who does what in pharmacy practice

The whole team has a role, but the most appropriate professional should usually lead the candour response. That may be the responsible pharmacist, superintendent pharmacist, prescribing pharmacist, clinical lead, or another senior clinician with the required knowledge and authority.

Unregistered team members still matter. If a dispenser, medicines counter assistant, delivery driver, trainee, or other team member notices an error or potential error, they should escalate it immediately rather than wait to see whether the patient complains.

Who leads, who supports, and who records should be clear locally.

• The most appropriate pharmacist or senior clinician should usually contact the patient or service user once the facts are clear enough to do so safely and honestly.
• The person with the right clinical competence should give immediate safety advice, including whether to stop a medicine, replace it, monitor, or seek urgent review.
• The event should be recorded promptly by the person responsible under local process, with factual notes of what happened, who was told, and what action was taken.
• Escalation to the prescriber, indemnity provider, superintendent, owner, or senior manager should be handled by the appropriate professional lead, depending on the seriousness and type of incident.
• Follow-up should have a named owner so the patient knows who will update them and the pharmacy knows who will check that agreed actions were completed.

Candour is not the same as blame. It is an honest, patient-centred response to something going wrong, combined with learning and accountability.