BRIS-46

Incorporate professional codes of practice into contracts for nurses, allied professions, managers

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

Government responseNot tracked (historical inquiry)

DeliveryDHSC and NHS England say in progress (Feb 2026)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The relevant codes of practice for nurses, for professions allied to medicine and for managers should be incorporated into their contracts of employment with hospital trusts or primary care trusts.

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 in progress · 27 Feb 2026

All health and care professionals are required to adhere to professional standards.

In respect of doctors, dentists, ophthalmic practitioners and pharmacists, NHS England publish a framework for the quality assurance and improvement of professional standards to help responsible officers and organisations to provide assurance that their professional standards processes meet the relevant statutory requirements and support quality improvement.

The Performers Lists provide the regulatory framework to ensure that medical, dental and ophthalmic practitioners who contract with NHS England are qualified and competent to provide safe and effective primary medical, dental and ophthalmic services.

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 “Implemented – Ongoing”. Table row: section 6.2 No. 46, PDF page 93.

What other bodies have found

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

●Thirlwall Inquiry legal team · 15 May 2024

The Government agreed with this recommendation in principle.

In its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said that contracts of employment for healthcare professionals were already based on the premise that they were properly registered with their regulatory body. The Department said that many contracts included this specific provision, but that it was implicit in all contracts of employment.

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. 46, 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.