Reports & recommendations
17 recommendations, each with the government response on the record. Filter by government response or delivery status.
Reports (1)
| Title | Volume | Publication Date | Recommendations | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson | - | 04 Feb 2020 | 17 |
Recommendations (5)
Single consultant data repository
We recommend that there should be a single repository of the whole practice of consultants across England, setting out their practising privileges and other critical consultant performance data, for example, how many times a consultant has performed a particular procedure and how recently. This should be accessible and understandable to the public. It should be mandated for use by managers and healthcare professionals in both the NHS and independent sector.
The Paterson Inquiry recommended creating a single, publicly accessible repository of consultants' whole practice across England. In July 2026, Baroness Merron of the Department of Health and Social Care stated that the National Consultant Information Programme covers National Health Service (NHS) practice and NHS-funded independent care, but does not record independent sector practising privileges (Baroness Merron, Jul 2026). The Minister added that patients cannot currently access this data, and incorporating independent sector care to achieve a single repository remains an ambition over time (Baroness Merron, Jul 2026). In a review dated April 2025 and published in February 2026, the Thirlwall Inquiry legal team found that creating a single repository presented challenges requiring further work across the system (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, Feb 2026).
Reflection period for consent
We recommend that there should be a short period introduced into the process of patients giving consent for surgical procedures, to allow them time to reflect on their diagnosis and treatment options. The GMC should monitor this as part of Good Medical Practice.
In July 2026, Baroness Merron for the Department of Health and Social Care stated that NHS England has integrated decision support tools to facilitate two-stage decision-making that introduces a period of reflection before consent, alongside independent healthcare standards advising specific reflection time (Baroness Merron, Jul 2026). The Minister had affirmed in April 2026 that doctors are expected to follow General Medical Council guidance requiring that patients receive the time and support needed to make informed treatment decisions (Baroness Merron, Apr 2026). Earlier, the Thirlwall Inquiry legal team found in May 2024 that while guidance from the council and other bodies indicated patients should have sufficient time to consider options, no defined period was required (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, May 2024).
Mandatory independent complaint resolution
We recommend that all private patients should have the right to mandatory independent resolution of their complaint.
In September 2024 commentary published in February 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England reported that complaint standards had been rolled out and that independent resolution for private providers operated through the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service's voluntary scheme (DHSC and NHS England, Feb 2026). In May 2024, the Thirlwall Inquiry legal team found that the recommendation was accepted in principle, noting that 94% of recorded private patient episodes were with providers subscribing to the service (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, May 2024). The department had previously decided in December 2022 that amending legislation to mandate independent complaint resolution was disproportionate after finding that 98% of patient episodes already had access to resolution (Department of Health and Social Care, Dec 2022).
Information sharing between providers
If the healthcare professional also works at another provider, any concerns about them should be communicated to that provider.
The Inquiry recommended sharing concerns about healthcare professionals with any other providers they work for. In commentary of September 2024, published in February 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England reported that NHS Resolution guidance requires exclusion decisions to be communicated to other providers, while broader reforms to strengthen information sharing remained under consideration (DHSC and NHS England, Feb 2026). The department stated that the timing of legislative changes to the Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) Regulations 2010 was subject to the priorities of the new government (DHSC and NHS England, Feb 2026). The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team noted in February 2026 that further consideration within that regulatory review was awaited (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, Feb 2026).
Independent sector provider responsibility
We recommend that the government addresses, as a matter of urgency, this gap in responsibility and liability.
In June 2026, Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, stated that the Care Quality Commission expects independent sector providers to meet fundamental standards of care and can take enforcement action if they do not, with principles from the Medical Practitioners Assurance Framework now incorporated into inspections (Baroness Merron, Jun 2026). In February 2026, the Thirlwall Inquiry legal team found that the framework had been refreshed to clarify provider responsibility and that NHS Resolution had issued resources on excluding professionals, noting that issues relating to liability were addressed under another recommendation (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, Feb 2026).