Openness, accountability and learning
Duty of Candour Annual Report
Our report for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, covering incidents, our procedure, support and learning.
This is the confirmed report for our organisation’s nursing service, published here by TSCCP. The Nursing Partnership is the specialist nursing and healthcare brand within The Social Care Community Partnership Ltd.
Reporting year at a glance
Duty of Candour incidents
1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
A written Duty of Candour policy supports our response.
Our Nurse Manager and clinical team support the process.
Incidents during the reporting period
No incidents were identified during this reporting period that required activation of the organisational Duty of Candour procedure.
There are therefore no incident-specific findings, multiple-person incidents, procedure-completion assessments or learning actions to report.
This figure relates specifically to organisational Duty of Candour. It does not mean that no complaints, concerns or other incidents were raised.
What Duty of Candour means
Scotland’s organisational Duty of Candour requires openness when an unintended or unexpected incident during health, care or social work services meets the statutory criteria for death or harm.
Activation takes account of the reasonable opinion of a registered health professional who was not involved in the incident. The outcome must relate to the incident, rather than the natural course of an illness or underlying condition. The duty can apply where harm could result, not only where it has already occurred.
Where the procedure applies, the organisation must communicate with the person affected or their representative, apologise, review what happened and explain the findings and next steps. An apology is not, by itself, an admission of negligence.
Our approach to openness and learning
We are committed to being open when something has gone wrong and to learning from incidents, complaints and feedback. Our clinical and operational teams support the required process and the people affected.
What happens when the duty applies
Once the statutory criteria are met, the procedure begins as soon as reasonably practicable. Communication and support continue throughout, rather than waiting until a review is complete.
Identify and notify
Identify the relevant person and explain that the procedure is being followed.
Apologise
Provide a meaningful, person-centred apology.
Offer a meeting
Invite questions and give the person an opportunity to discuss what happened.
Review the incident
Examine the circumstances and consider the person’s questions and views.
Explain the findings
Share the outcome and explain what the review established.
Share next steps
Explain any actions or improvements arising from the review.
Provide support
Consider the needs of affected people and staff, and information about appropriate support.
Record and report
Keep a written record and include the required information in the annual report.
Policies and systems
We have a written Duty of Candour policy and a complaints procedure. Clinical concerns and complaints are investigated, with the relevant people kept informed.
Our clinical team supports the review of concerns and the assessment of whether the organisational Duty of Candour procedure applies. We consider feedback, recruitment controls, training and compliance information as part of our governance arrangements.
Staff responsibilities
Nurses and Healthcare Assistants receive training and guidance on honest, transparent and compassionate care, including openness, apology and explaining what happened.
NMC guidance is shared with nurses and Care Inspectorate expectations are highlighted. Reflective practice, supervision and training updates support learning where concerns identify a need.
Learning and improvement
No incident-specific policy changes or improvement actions arose from the Duty of Candour procedure during 2025–2026. Our policy and guidance remain under review.
Complaints and feedback
Client feedback and concerns inform investigations, reflection and the actions needed to improve practice.
Training and development
Training requirements are reviewed when practice changes or complaint investigations identify a need. Personal development and appraisal continue.
Clinical governance
Our clinical team reviews relevant concerns, supports communication and discusses investigation outcomes and the need for apologies.
Recruitment and compliance
Recruitment checks, suitable placements, mandatory training and compliance review remain part of our ongoing controls.
Supporting people affected
People receiving care and their representatives
Our clinical team coordinates communication and liaises with the person affected or their representative. We aim to explain the process clearly, listen to questions and provide information about appropriate support.
We share investigation outcomes with the relevant parties while respecting confidentiality.
Our staff and professionals
Support can include clinical guidance, supervision, reflective practice and training updates, depending on the circumstances.
Professionals have a dedicated consultant, with an on-call team available outside normal office hours. Clinical concerns can be escalated through the appropriate route.
A complaint is not automatically a Duty of Candour incident
Complaints and Duty of Candour are related but separate processes. A concern is reviewed through the appropriate route; the organisational Duty of Candour procedure applies only where the statutory criteria are met.
Clinical oversight and contact
Our Nurse Manager provides clinical oversight and supports our response to relevant clinical incidents, complaints and Duty of Candour matters.
Nurse ManagerThe Nursing Partnership
94 Hope Street
Glasgow, G2 6PH
nurselead@thenursingpartnership.co.uk
General telephone: 0141 212 6565
Please do not send confidential care records or sensitive information in an initial email. Our team can advise on the appropriate way to share it.
Further information
This report uses the Scottish Government’s organisational Duty of Candour guidance, revised March 2025 and published on 4 April 2025.
An annual report is prepared for each financial year. Publishing this page does not itself complete any separate regulatory notification or annual-return requirement.
Report date: April 2026. TSCCP web presentation updated 1 October 2026. Reporting period and incident total are unchanged from the confirmed 2025–2026 report.