Independent sector NHS contract qualification
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 if the government accepts any of the recommendations set out above, it should make arrangements to ensure that these are to be applicable across the whole of the independent sector's workload, where relevant, and not only to those patients covered by the NHS, insured patients and patients who have paid directly for their care, if they are to qualify for NHS contracted work.
Paterson Inquiry, Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · 4 Feb 2020 Source PDF →
Response — verbatim from government
●Department of Health and Social Care
Not accepted but kept under review. Government concerned about proportionality and unintended consequences. NHS Standard Contract already requires providers to meet certain standards. CQC registration applies to all providers regardless of funding source. Government monitoring whether voluntary improvements by independent sector are sufficient or whether further measures needed. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)
Department of Health and Social Care · 16 Dec 2021
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Apr 2025 DHSC and NHS England implementation update provided to the Thirlwall Inquiry (April 2025). This is the government's own account of progress, submitted to the inquiry. Reviewed extent of implementation: Not accepted. This recommendation was not accepted by Government. The Government response recognised that patients treated in the independent sector should have the same right to safe treatment as those treated in the NHS. For that reason, it is important that, where the NHS is adopting certain recommendations from the inquiry, these recommendations are also adopted in the independent sector. The previous Government recognised, however, the differences in the ways in which the two sectors operate and the governance models adopted in each case. The previous Government felt that different approaches are therefore often required for achieving change in the independent sector and therefore this recommendation was not accepted. Source →
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.