Patient-focused correspondence
Paterson Inquiry · Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · Issued 4 February 2020 · Addressed to: Department of Health and Social Care
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
We recommend that it should be standard practice that consultants in both the NHS and the independent sector should write to patients, outlining their condition and treatment, in simple language, and copy this letter to the patient's GP, rather than writing to the GP and sending a copy to the patient.
Paterson Inquiry, Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · 4 Feb 2020 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The December 2022 implementation update stated that the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges guidance had been re-circulated in December 2021, and that NHS app usage had reached 35 million record views by September 2022 with 68% of adults registered, giving patients direct access to their health records (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
- The GMC published an updated edition of Good Medical Practice in January 2024, which reinforces the principle that doctors should communicate with patients directly and ensure patients understand their diagnosis and treatment options (Good Medical Practice, GMC, January 2024).
Response — verbatim from government
●Department of Health and Social Care
Accepted. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges updated their 2018 guidance 'Please write to me' in light of this recommendation. Guidance emphasises writing directly to patients, copying in GPs, using clear language. NHS England is working to embed this practice across the health service. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)
Department of Health and Social Care · 16 Dec 2021
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.