New initiative to educate health care workers on the importance of apologies

The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety wants health care workers to know there is nothing wrong with offering an apology.

The institute worked with 21 health groups in the province to create am information sheet on the impact and importance of saying sorry.

Contributors to the guide say health care workers can be hesitant to apologize to patients or their families because they fear legal liability or negative effects on their malpractice insurance coverage.

The province of Manitoba has had an Apology Act since 2008 that explains offering an apology is not an admission of guilt.

“We realize that a lot of health care professionals didn’t know about the act or the protection that it provides with regards to an apology when things don’t go as planned,” said Laurie Thompson, executive director of the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety.

According to the institute acknowledging that something happened and offering a sincere apology can help with the healing process and provide hope that it can be a learning experience that may change things in the future.

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  Laurie Thompson, executive director, Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety discusses he importance and impact of apology when something has happened to harm or potentially harm a patient.