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BRIS-45

Incorporate doctors' professional practice code into employment contracts and GP terms

Bristol Heart Inquiry · Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report · Issued 18 July 2001

Government responseNot tracked (historical inquiry)

DeliveryDHSC and NHS England say not accepted (Feb 2026)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The doctors’ Code of Professional Practice, as set down in the GMC’s ‘Good Medical Practice’, should be incorporated into the contract of employment between doctors and trusts. In the case of GPs, the terms of service should be amended to incorporate the Code.

Bristol Heart Inquiry, Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report · 18 Jul 2001 Source PDF →

Government response

●No formal government response recorded

The Index has not yet recorded a verbatim government response to this recommendation.

Delivery

●DHSC and NHS England say not accepted · 27 Feb 2026

This recommendation was not accepted by the Government.

From: The Thirlwall Inquiry: Review of Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Inquiries into Healthcare Issues (version dated April 2025)

Site note: DHSC and NHS England's own account of progress, supplied to the Thirlwall Inquiry in September 2024 and printed in the Inquiry legal team's Review of Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Inquiries into Healthcare Issues (version dated April 2025, published 27 February 2026). It is not a finding of the Inquiry. Their reviewed extent of implementation reads “Not accepted”. Table row: section 6.2 No. 45, PDF page 93.

What other bodies have found

In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.

●Thirlwall Inquiry legal team · 27 Feb 2026

The Government rejected this recommendation.

In its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said that the standard documentation for consultants’ appraisal, a contractual requirement from April 2001, already explicitly included the headings set out in the General Medical Council’s ‘Good Medical Practice’ and the same principles would apply to other NHS doctors including GPS where appraisal is under negotiation.

From: The Thirlwall Inquiry: Review of Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Inquiries into Healthcare Issues (version dated April 2025)

Site note: The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team's own notes on implementation, from its Review of Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Inquiries into Healthcare Issues (version dated April 2025, published 27 February 2026). The review does not colour its Extent of Implementation cell for this recommendation green; it leaves the cell uncoloured where a recommendation was rejected, where evidence of implementation was insufficient, or where steps had been taken but implementation was not yet complete. Table row: section 6.2 No. 45, PDF page 93.

Earlier findings (1)

●Thirlwall Inquiry legal team · 15 May 2024

The Government rejected this recommendation.

In its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said that the standard documentation for consultants’ appraisal, a contractual requirement from April 2001, already explicitly included the headings set out in the General Medical Council’s ‘Good Medical Practice’ and the same principles would apply to other NHS doctors including GPs where appraisal is under negotiation.

From: The Thirlwall Inquiry: Review of Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Inquiries into Healthcare Issues (version of 15 May 2024)

Site note: The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team's own notes on implementation, from its Review of Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Inquiries into Healthcare Issues (version of 15 May 2024). The review does not colour its Extent of Implementation cell for this recommendation green; it leaves the cell uncoloured where a recommendation was rejected, where evidence of implementation was insufficient, or where steps had been taken but implementation was not yet complete. Table row: section 6.2 No. 45, PDF page 88.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.