KESS- Addressing Duty of Candour & Safe Staffing

Parliament Buildings – Long Gallery

1.30pm: RaISe Researcher – Welcome
1.35pm: Assembly Committee Chair – Opening Remarks

Dr Eiman Abdel Meguid, Reader (Education), Centre for Biomedical Sciences Education, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast; Associate Professor Dr Hailey Nation, Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health at San Antonia; Associate Professor Dr Marwa Mahmoud Mady, Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Alexandria University Egypt and Department of Biomedical Sciences Gulf Medical School University United Arab Emirates; Dr Alessandro Impedovo, University of Nottingham

This seminar is relevant to discussion addressing the proposed Individual Duty of Candour Bill. If candour is to be effective, it not only depends on appropriate responses following adverse events, but also on educational and organisational cultures that prepare healthcare professionals to recognise normal anatomical variation, distinguish variation from pathology, anticipate procedural risks and communicate uncertainty accurately and sensitively.

Anatomical variation is a normal feature of the human body, yet health professions education has traditionally relied on standardised anatomical models that may not adequately represent variation across populations. This presentation examines how greater recognition of anatomical diversity in dental and healthcare education could contribute to safer and more equitable care in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, having relevance in relation to clinical reasoning, interpretation of diagnostic images, procedural planning and communication of uncertainty or unexpected findings.

Key findings are shared from an academic structured synthesis of four main evidence sources – namely: (1) research studies examining students’ experiences of inclusive anatomy curricula; (2) research investigating anatomy learning and student motivation; (3) systematic and scoping reviews of approaches to teaching anatomical variation; and, (4) clinically relevant literature on anatomical variation and its implications for practice. Those sources have been critically appraised according to study design, sample and relevance to other clinical settings, to reveal new findings about dental development and oral characteristics – and how such development and characteristics vary significantly by ancestry, ethnicity, sex and geographic region – distinguishing established findings from emerging practices and unresolved evidence gaps.

That synthesis observed differences in eruption timing, tooth morphology, gingival pigmentation, arch form and aesthetic perceptions, emphasising the need for population-specific reference data and culturally sensitive, individualised diagnosis and treatment planning, rather than continued reliance on a single universal dental norm. Moreover, drawing on 2020, 2024 and 2025 academic research findings concerning health professions students, the presentation highlights how recent research illustrates the need for continued investigation of such students’ motivation, if feasible and effective education strategies are to be evidence-informed and further developed.

While acknowledging both the strengths and limitations of the available evidence, the presenter draws on these research findings and her wider scholarship to consider the following three issues: (1) whether current education and training standards adequately prepare professionals for population variation; (2) whether organisational learning following adverse events appropriately considers gaps in curricula and representation; and, (3) whether implementation of a statutory Individual Duty of Candour, as currently proposed, should be accompanied by written, evidence-informed guidance on inclusive educational resources, continuing professional development, incident learning and patient involvement. Drawing on those findings, as well as her wider scholarship, she acknowledges both the strengths and limitations of the available evidence.

Professor Gary Mitchell and Ms Tara Anderson, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast

Pancreatic cancer is one of Northern Ireland’s most demanding high-need cancer pathways: outcomes remain poor, deterioration can be rapid, and patients and families often require treatment, palliative, psychosocial and practical support at the same time. This presentation synthesises findings from the QUB/NIPANC Pancreatic Cancer Supportive Care, Education and Psychosocial Research Programme, which is grounded in lived experience and focused on supportive care, psychosocial needs and experiences, education, workforce development and service improvement.

Drawing together evidence across the Programme, the presentation considers what Northern Ireland legislation needs to recognise when defining safe and effective care and candour in a complex cancer pathway. Across patient, family-carer, professional and service-focused work, three issues are consistent. First, pancreatic cancer journeys are time-compressed. People may move quickly from diagnosis to treatment decisions, deterioration, palliative care or bereavement, leaving limited time for information, preparation and relationship-building. Ongoing Northern Ireland research examining the pancreatic cancer journey from pre-diagnosis to survivorship or end of life highlights why continuity, navigation and anticipatory support must be designed into services. Second, family members are not peripheral visitors but active contributors to care. Review evidence, together with ongoing research with family carers, identifies caregiver stress, disrupted daily life and relationships, unmet need, poorer quality of life, increased psychiatric risk and repeated lack of support and signposting. Third, the workforce implications go beyond staff numbers. Safe care in this pathway requires specialist pancreatic cancer knowledge, confidence in honest and compassionate communication, coordination across oncology, surgery, palliative care, specialist psychological and psycho-oncology support, primary care and voluntary-sector support, and awareness of age-sensitive family needs, including adolescents and young people affected by parental pancreatic cancer.

For the proposed Individual Duty of Candour Bill, the evidence highlights communication as an ongoing care process, not a single disclosure event. In pancreatic cancer, honesty, timeliness and compassion matter at diagnosis, treatment decision-making, deterioration, transition to palliative care and bereavement. For the proposed Safe and Effective Staffing Bill, the Programme indicates that workforce planning should account for high-need cancer pathways where clinical treatment, symptom management, emotional support and family support are inseparable. This raises scrutiny questions around specialist roles, care coordination, psycho-oncology access, professional education and regional and socioeconomic differences in access to support.

The presentation concludes with practical policy considerations for strengthening pancreatic cancer supportive care in Northern Ireland through staffing capability, communication standards, family-carer support, service navigation and academic-voluntary sector partnership.

2.25pm: Discussion
2.55pm: RaISe Researcher – Closing
3.00pm: Networking & Refreshments

Event venue

Parliament Buildings, Parliament Buildings, Belfast, United Kingdom

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