Debate contribution: Infected Blood Inquiry
Debate contribution by Mr Robin Swann on .
- MLA
- Mr Robin Swann
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 21 May 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Question for Urgent Oral Answer
- Heading
- Infected Blood Inquiry
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4491745
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for that point. In the report that was published yesterday, Sir Brian included a wide-ranging recommendation that a statutory duty of candour be placed on government and Executives. There are other recommendations regarding the duty of candour, and, as the Member said, it has been referred to in other inquiry reports. The Member will be aware that we are looking at an overarching outcomes quality framework and how to bring together all the outstanding recommendations from all the inquiries — I think that I mentioned that when I was in front of the Committee. The recommendations from Sir Brian, yesterday, strengthen that position on where we want to go, as a Department, on making sure that we get this right. It is also important to say that, before I left office when I was previously Health Minister, I had written to my counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales about bringing forward a duty of candour on a UK-wide basis to make sure that we were working to the same level and standards across all four health services. Sir Brian's recommendation, from yesterday, goes a step further regarding that duty of candour, because it includes government. The failings, especially around the infected blood, were shown to be from not just the health service but across government. Those wider failings were acknowledged yesterday in what was a very moving outworking, when Sir Brian presented his report, in Central Hall, to many, including people who had been infected, people who had been affected and people who had lost loved ones.
261 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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