Dr. John Duddy:

If it is said explicitly from the start, obviously that will not create a very good environment in which to have an open conversation about what happened. However, all parties could be informed in advance that it would be an open conversation to explain what had happened. We are always told in our training that apologising is not an automatic admission of liability. Perhaps it might be made clear that the purpose of the conversation is to apologise or explain what went wrong, as opposed to starting from a defensive footing. There are ways in which it could be communicated clearly to patients and their families.