BRIS-57

Prioritise non-clinical skills in healthcare professional education and development

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

Greater priority than at present should be given to non-clinical aspects of care in six key areas in the education, training and continuing professional development of healthcare professionals:
skills in communicating with patients and with colleagues;
education about the principles and organisation of the NHS, and about how care is managed, and the skills required for management;
the development of teamwork;
shared learning across professional boundaries;
clinical audit and reflective practice; and
leadership.

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

Please see response to Recommendations 1 (Patient-centred care), 2 (Shared decision-making); 3 (team communications): 5 (personalised information); 19 (team communications).

Professional regulators such as the GMC set generic standards expected of medical education and training organisations and the outcomes students and doctors in training should achieve. This includes capabilities in leadership and teamwork, professional skills and in patient safety and quality improvement.

The NMC standard of proficiency for registered nurses also includes non-clinical competencies.

There is an HEE toolkit which is a step-by-step guide to help progress a ‘one workforce’ approach across health and care organisations and ICSs. ‘One workforce’ is intended to be indicative of a workforce drawn from a range of health and social care disciplines, working seamlessly as a productive, multifunctional team across clinical pathways.

Health Education England was merged into NHS England in 2023. Relevant work being taken forward by the Workforce, Training and Education directorate is set out in Recommendation 50.

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. 57, PDF page 98.

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 agreed with this recommendation.

n its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said it was working with regulatory and professional bodies and educators to ensure that from 2002 these core skills were included in all NHS-funded professional programmes and clinical undergraduate training.

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. 57, PDF page 98.

Earlier findings (1)

●Thirlwall Inquiry legal team · 15 May 2024

The Government agreed with this recommendation.

In its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said it was working with regulatory and professional bodies and educators to ensure that from 2002 these core skills were included in all NHS-funded professional programmes and clinical undergraduate training.

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. 57, PDF page 91.

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.