Duty of Candour Scenario Questions
NMC CBT duty of candour practice: being open when care goes wrong, apologising, the professional and statutory duty, and worked answers.
When care goes wrong, the instinct to say nothing is strong and completely human. The duty of candour exists to override that instinct. It requires nurses and organisations to be open and honest with patients when something in their care has gone wrong.
There are two layers. Every nurse has a professional duty of candour under the Code and NMC guidance. Organisations have a statutory duty that is triggered when a safety incident causes a certain level of harm. For the CBT, the professional duty is what most questions turn on, and it is broad: you are expected to be open, not to wait for a harm threshold to be crossed.
What being open actually involves
When something goes wrong, you tell the patient or their representative what happened, as soon as is reasonably practicable. You give an honest account in terms they can understand. You apologise. You explain what will be done, including any monitoring or support. And you report the incident so the team can learn from it.
The timing matters. Holding the news until discharge, or until the patient thinks to ask, is a failure of candour even if you eventually tell them.
The apology myth
The most common misconception, and a favourite exam distractor, is that apologising admits legal liability. It does not. Saying you are sorry that something happened is not a confession of fault, and the guidance says so directly. An early, sincere apology is the expected response, and it often keeps a situation from hardening into a formal complaint or claim.
Near misses count too
Candour is not only about incidents that reached the patient. Near misses are reported because spotting them is how future harm gets prevented. A stem where a colleague suggests quietly dropping a near miss “because no one was hurt” is testing whether you understand that openness includes the things that almost went wrong.
The thread through every question here: tell the patient, tell them soon, say sorry, and record it. Next: raising concerns and whistleblowing. Five candour scenarios first.
Sources & further reading
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell a patient about a mistake if it caused no harm?
Isn't apologising an admission that I am legally liable?
Who should tell the patient when something goes wrong?
Check your understanding
Quick quiz: Duty of Candour Scenario Questions
5questions. Click an answer to see the explanation. Your score is saved on this device only.
- 1
A patient was given a double dose of a medicine by mistake. They appear well. What does the duty of candour require?
- 2
A nurse worries that apologising to a patient for an error admits legal fault. What is correct?
- 3
When should a patient be told that something has gone wrong with their care?
- 4
A colleague suggests not recording a near miss because no harm occurred. How should you respond?
- 5
After an error, a patient asks what happened and why. What should the nurse provide?
Keep reading
NMC Code Scenario Questions: Prioritise People
NMC CBT practice on the Code: the four themes, how scenario questions test them, and worked answers on prioritising people and preserving safety.
Record Keeping Scenario Questions
NMC CBT record keeping practice: contemporaneous, factual, accurate notes, correcting errors properly, and worked scenario answers.
Raising Concerns and Whistleblowing Questions
NMC CBT practice on raising concerns: the duty to speak up about safety, how to escalate, protected disclosure, and worked scenario answers.