National chaperone policy for healthcare (England)
IICSA · Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · Issued 25 April 2018 · Addressed to: Department of Health and Social Care
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Chair and Panel recommend that the Department of Health and Social Care develops a national policy for the training and use of chaperones in the treatment of children in healthcare services. The Chair and Panel recommend that the Care Quality Commission considers compliance with national chaperone policies (once implemented) in its assessments of services.
IICSA, Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · 25 Apr 2018 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government stated that this recommendation was being taken forward through NHS England (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
- No published national mandatory chaperone policy specifically covering the treatment of children in healthcare services has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
DHSC fully supports the use of chaperones for children, young people and adults at risk. DHSC will seek assurance from NHS England and CQC that the relevant organisations have chaperone protocols in place to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults in their care.
UK Government · 20 Dec 2018 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
NHS England has developed chaperone guidance notes which set out clear principles of chaperoning and include examples of good practice. The guidance notes were signed off by the NHS England and NHS Improvement Executive team in May 2019 and have been disseminated through extensive communication channels. DHSC will continue to require the CQC to assess providers' policies and protocols on their inspection visits.
UK Government · 22 Jul 2019 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
On 22 July 2019, the UK government stated that NHS England had developed chaperone guidance notes which set out principles of chaperoning and included examples of good practice. It also stated that the Department for Health and Social Care would continue to require the Care Quality Commission to assess providers' policies and protocols on their inspection visits.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
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.