The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012

Matters to be included in commissioning contracts

16.—(1) A commissioning contract entered into by a relevant body must contain terms and conditions that prescribe the circumstances in which the health service provider must provide to a relevant person—

(a) an appropriate apology; and

(b) the relevant information,

where there has been a patient safety incident.

(2) In this regulation—

“appropriate apology” means a sincere expression of sorrow or regret, given in writing, for the harm that has resulted from a patient safety incident;

“patient safety incident” means an unintended or unexpected incident that occurs in respect of a patient, during and as a result of the provision of health care services, that could have led to, or did lead to, harm to that patient;

“relevant person” means the patient in respect of whom the patient safety incident occurred, or someone lawfully acting on that patient’s behalf;

“relevant information”, in relation to a patient safety incident, means written details of—

(a)

the patient safety incident,

(b)

any investigation that has been carried out into that incident, and any causes of that incident, or other findings, that have been identified as a result of such an investigation, and

(c)

any steps that have been taken to prevent the recurrence of such an incident.