Doctors 'must say sorry for their mistakes': Call for patients to get honest explanation if their treatment goes wrong Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt impose 'statutory duty of candour' for NHS Patients must be informed if errors in their treatment have caused harm Say sorry: Doctors are to be made to apologise for their mistakes Patients whose treatment goes wrong should get an honest explanation and possibly an apology from their doctor, the General Medical Council has said. Doctors must put patients" safety, dignity and comfort first, according to a new guide. For the first time, it tells patients directly what they can expect from their doctors. It comes after the scandal at Stafford Hospital, where an inquiry found doctors did not raise the alarm when patients were forced to drink water from flower vases and were left lying in their own excrement and urine for days. The new guidance makes clear that patients should expect doctors to report when things go wrong, including accidents and mistakes. They should take 'prompt action if they think that a patient's safety, dignity or comfort is being compromised.' Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said 'It is absolutely clear that doctor must tell patients when something has gone wrong. They must be open and honest with patients, and apologise where appropriate. He said the new guidance was the first to be aimed at patients in the 150-year history of the GMC. But it was important in the wake of the Francis inquiry to make clear that patients' safety should come first. 'The Mid Staffs inquiry found some doctors did not raise concerns about serious failings in the standard of care' he said. Doctors who commit serious breaches of GMC rules or persistently flout them would face disciplinary proceedings' he added. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt imposed a 'statutory duty of candour' on NHS organisations in response to the inquiry, meaning patients or their families must be informed if errors in their treatment have caused death or serious injury. But so far no decision has been made about whether to make individual doctors and nurses criminally accountable for hiding errors. GMC chairman Professor Sir Peter Rubin said figures released last week showing doctors 'talking over' one in four patients as if they were not there were unacceptable. No apologies: Heather Wilhelms' husband Tom was forced to drink out of a vase during his treatment in Stafford Hospital, where he later died Statutory duty of candour: patients or their families must be informed if errors in their treatment have caused death or serious injury, says Jeremy Hunt He said 'Doctors should take a lead in ensuring good practice is embedded in day to day practice. Having a quarter of patients feel they are being ignored is simply not acceptable. Katherine Murphy, chief executive of Patients Association, said 'We firmly believe that the patient needs to be at the centre of a doctor's practice, and this guide is a useful tool to assist clinicians in achieving that goal. It also provides useful information to patients about what behaviour, support and assistance they should reasonably expect from their doctor. Dr Dan Poulter MP, Health Minister, said 'The vast majority of doctors have an excellent relationship with their patients. However, the Francis report highlighted that there is much more we need to do to put patients at the heart of healthcare. The guide for patients is based on the standards for doctors set out and apply to all 250,000 doctors on the medical register, including those from abroad working in the NHS. The guidance is available as a booklet and online.