Medics feel unable to say sorry to patients

The dilemma facing doctors when it comes to being upfront with patients is captured in a new survey which found that one in five has been in a situation where they felt unable to apologise — even when the patient or their family expected an apology.

The barriers to an apology included fear that it would mean an admission of liability, fear of being sued, and uncertainty around whether apologising was the correct thing to do.