Effective Records, Reports and GDPR for Healthcare Professionals
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Open Disclosure Under the New Patient Safety Act
The long-anticipated Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 was signed into the law in April 2023.
295
Online
9:30am - 4:30pm
1 Day
About this course
The long-anticipated Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 was signed into the law in April 2023. It is important that health practitioners familiarise themselves with the mandatory obligations and are supported to engage positively with the changing environment.
Course syllabus
Once the legislation is commenced, a specific list of notifiable incidents must be disclosed to the patient and/or their relevant person and reported to HIQA or the Mental Health Commission.
This legislation represents a model shift to a mandatory regime of open disclosure with the aim of changing culture and embedding open honest communication of adverse events in the healthcare setting.
This one day training session will include:
- Open Disclosure Policy and legislation,
- Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023,
- Communication skills & tools,
- Open disclosure levels and process,
- Managing an Open Disclosure Meeting.
This training course is relevant to all health and social care professionals working in the health service.
Meet the trainer – Susie Shine
Solicitor and Director of Training
Susie Shine is a solicitor, and Director of Training with La Touche Training. Susie has been working with La Touche Training since 2008 and has overall responsibility for design, development,...
Read BioPractical training with small groups to ensure quality.
Our training sessions are not lectures—they're practical, interactive experiences. The small group format allows every attendee to ask questions, take part in discussions involving practical exercises and role-plays.
This method of training allows attendees to put the skills learned into practice immediately. Course participants benefit from the focused attention and guidance of an independent expert.
Open Disclosure/New Patient Safety Act
FAQs
Open disclosure is the process of communicating with patients and, where appropriate, their families following a patient safety incident. It involves providing timely, honest, and compassionate information about what occurred and the steps being taken in response.
The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 introduces a legislative framework for mandatory open disclosure and the reporting of certain patient safety incidents in Ireland.
Open disclosure promotes transparency, patient trust, accountability, and learning within healthcare organisations. It also supports a culture focused on patient safety and continuous improvement.
This course is suitable for healthcare professionals, clinical managers, patient safety personnel, risk managers, complaints officers, social care staff, and public sector employees involved in patient communication and incident management.
Open disclosure may be required where a patient safety incident has occurred that resulted in serious harm, unintended outcomes, or circumstances specified under the Patient Safety Act and related guidance
Healthcare staff should communicate honestly, respectfully, and empathetically while providing clear information about the incident and responding appropriately to patient concerns and questions.
Open disclosure is intended to support transparency and patient-centred communication rather than assign blame. The legislation includes legal protections relating to certain open disclosure communications.
Accurate documentation is important to record the details of the incident, communications with the patient or family, actions taken, and any follow-up measures arising from the process.
An effective open disclosure framework encourages learning from incidents, improving communication, identifying systemic issues, and strengthening patient safety practices across healthcare organisations.
Participants typically develop skills in patient communication, incident response, legal awareness, empathy, documentation, risk management, and applying open disclosure obligations in healthcare settings.
