Open disclosure training uptake ‘on track’ to hit 2024 target

The HSE has informed the Medical Independent (MI) that the completion of open disclosure training by doctors is “on track” to meet the Executive’s 2024 target. Additionally, a revised policy on open disclosure will soon be circulated for consultation.

The policy revision aims to align with the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023, the National Open Disclosure Framework, and “learnings and insights in relation to open disclosure”. According to a HSE spokesperson, the updated policy will be circulated “over the coming weeks”, with the consultation window remaining open for several weeks afterwards. “Once feedback has been received and considered, we will be in a position to publish,” the spokesperson added.

The Patient Safety Act was enacted in May 2023, though the Department of Health has yet to announce a commencement date.

Data provided to MI shows that between January and June 2024, doctors completed 2,765 module one open disclosure training programmes, compared to 5,142 completions in all of last year. During the same period, there were 1,080 completions of module two training, compared to 1,702 for the entirety of last year. Additionally, 151 face-to-face skills workshops on open disclosure were completed between January and June this year, compared to 633 in total last year.

Overall, there were 3,996 completions of all mandatory open disclosure training modules by doctors in the first half of 2024, compared to 7,477 in total last year. The HSE noted that since various training programmes are available, doctors may have attended more than one, resulting in some being counted multiple times in the data.

The HSE spokesperson reiterated that the 2024 completions of open disclosure training by doctors are “on track to meet the target for the year”. Last year’s 7,477 completions represented a “39 per cent increase on the previous year (5,383 completions in 2022)”.