Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he does not want to create a culture in the health service where people are "too afraid" to disclose serious patient safety incidents.
Mr Donnelly warned that new legislation that will require the mandatory open disclosure of serious patient safety incidents must not create a culture of fear among staff.
The Patient Safety Bill sets out a list of patient safety incidents which must be reported to the health watchdog, Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
