Duty of Candour Annual Report

Date: 17th April 2026

All health and social care services in Scotland have an organisational duty of candour. This is a legal requirement which means that when certain types of incidents happen, the people affected understand what has happened, receive an apology, and the organisation learns how to improve for the future.

An important part of this duty is that we provide an annual report about the organisational duty of candour in our services.

This report describes how our organisation, Clark Optometrists Ltd., has operated the organisational duty of candour during the period between 1st April 2025 and 31st March 2026.

If you have any questions or would like more information about Clark Optometrists, please contact us at isla.kirkness@clarkopto.co.uk or 01856 872857.

Incidents Reported

In the last year, there have been no incidents to which the organisational duty of candour applied.

Information About Our Policies and Procedures

  • Our registered staff all received training on understanding the duty of candour via the NES Turas Learn Module, Understanding Duty of Candour. This forms part of induction training for any new staff.
  • All staff follow our in-house Adverse Events, Near Misses and Duty of Candour Escalation Framework, which forms part of our employee handbook. This helps staff understand and identify when issues should be reported and how. We believe this aids staff development and helps to avoid more serious incidents.
  • When an incident has happened that triggers the organisational duty of candour procedures, staff will inform Isla Kirkness immediately. The date will be recorded together with the basis for the activation. Relevant persons will be informed as soon as is reasonable, which may be before a formal review. The organisation will follow guidance as per Organisational Duty of Candour Non-Statutory Guidance – Revised March 2025. Relevant contacts at NHS Orkney would be informed.
  • We know that serious mistakes can be distressing for staff as well as people who receive care and treatment and their families. We recognise the need for occupational welfare support in place for our staff if they have been affected by an organisational duty of candour incident, for example through our Employee Assistance Programme which can offer psychological support. Where a relevant person – including children, patients and families – is affected by the incident that activated the organisational duty of candour, we would provide them with links to wellbeing support services.

Report Author

Isla Kirkness
Director