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'Too many people won't do the right thing'

A man whose daughter's death was examined by an inquiry which found there had been a "cover-up" into what happened has said doctors must be legally bound to tell the truth.

Alan Roberts said "the public will be shocked to find there is no legal binding duty on a doctor to tell a patient when there have been failures or when they've been at fault".

He added that the Department of Health had been “dragging its feet” in implementing a duty of candour.

Claire Roberts was one of five children whose deaths at hospitals in Northern Ireland were examined by the 14-year-long inquiry.

It was heavily critical of a health service it deemed to be "self-regulating and unmonitored".

It comes as Northern Ireland's human rights commissioner said that healthcare staff who deliberately withhold information should face criminal prosecution in cases involving patient safety and deaths.

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25 June 2024