BRIS-80

Involve NHS and public in establishing selection criteria for healthcare professionals

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

Government responseNot tracked (historical inquiry)

DeliveryDHSC and NHS England say partially delivered (Feb 2026)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The NHS and the public should be involved in (a) establishing the criteria for selection and (b) the selection of those to be educated as doctors, nurses and as other healthcare professionals.

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 partially delivered · 27 Feb 2026

Please see Recommendation 46 (Professional standards).

Professional regulators regularly consult to make sure policies are well informed and meet the needs of healthcare professional and patients in the UK. Examples include:

• The NMC standards for education and training include the standards framework for nursing and midwifery education. The NMC last consulted on these in 2021 via a public survey • Current GMC consultations. From 27 April to 20 July 2022 the GMC ran a public consultation on the updated Good medical practice, its guidance on the standards of care and professional behaviour it expect from all medical professionals registered with it.

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 “Partially Implemented –Ongoing”. Table row: section 6.2 No. 80, PDF page 107-108.

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 all recruitment and admission procedures were based on published criteria to assist transparency and that it was committed to encouraging broad participation in selection procedures.

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. 80, PDF page 98.

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.