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FAQs - Duty of Candour for Healthcare Professionals | New Zealand CPD Course

Duty of Candour for Healthcare Professionals

Course Description

Openness, honesty, and transparency are fundamental expectations of healthcare professionals in New Zealand. When something goes wrong in healthcare, patients and whānau expect clear explanations, timely communication, and genuine apologies. A failure to be open can seriously undermine trust and frequently leads to complaints, investigations, and fitness to practise concerns—even when the original clinical issue was minor.

This course provides a comprehensive, practical, and regulator-aligned guide to the Duty of Candour in healthcare practice in New Zealand. It focuses on recognising notifiable events, communicating openly with patients and whānau, apologising appropriately, documenting disclosures, and responding professionally when concerns arise. Particular attention is given to how openness, insight, and remediation influence employer and regulatory outcomes.

The course is suitable for all healthcare professionals in New Zealand, including doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists, allied health professionals, and all practitioners regulated under the HPCA framework. It is especially valuable for professionals facing complaints, investigations, competence reviews, or fitness to practise processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Openness, honesty, and transparency are fundamental expectations of healthcare professionals in New Zealand. When something goes wrong, patients and whānau expect clear explanations, timely communication, and genuine apologies. A failure to be open can seriously undermine trust and lead to complaints, investigations, and fitness-to-practise concerns.

It is especially valuable for professionals facing complaints, investigations, competence reviews, or fitness-to-practise processes where openness and candour are being scrutinised by employers or regulators.

The course covers recognising notifiable events, communicating openly with patients and whānau, apologising appropriately, documenting disclosures, and responding professionally when concerns arise in everyday clinical practice.

Yes, a failure to be open can seriously undermine trust and frequently leads to complaints, investigations, and fitness-to-practise concerns — even when the original clinical issue was minor. How a professional responds is often more important than the incident itself.

Yes, apologising appropriately is a key focus alongside recognising notifiable events, communicating openly with patients and whānau, documenting disclosures, and responding professionally. The course explains what makes an apology meaningful and effective.

Particular attention is given to how openness, insight, and remediation influence employer and regulatory outcomes. The course explains what regulators look for and how candour affects the outcome of complaints and investigations.

Yes, documenting disclosures is a key practical area covered alongside recognising notifiable events, communication, apologies, and professional responses to concerns. Good documentation is essential for evidencing candour.

Yes, communicating openly with patients and whānau is a core focus of the course, reflecting the importance of culturally appropriate and family-centred communication in New Zealand healthcare practice.

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Course Content

Course Objectives

Section 1: Introduction to Duty of Candour in New Zealand

Section 2: What Duty of Candour Means in Practice

Section 3: When Things Go Wrong – Adverse Events and Harm

Section 4: Open Disclosure and Communication With Patients and Whānau

Section 5: Apologies, Responsibility, and Professional Accountability

Section 6: Documentation and Evidence of Candour

Section 7: Common Pitfalls, Complaints, and Investigations

Section 8: Regulatory Expectations and Fitness to Practise

Section 9: Reflection, Insight, and Remediation After Candour Failures

Section 10: Conclusion and Key Takeaways