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 (2)
Suspension during investigation
We recommend that if, when a hospital investigates a healthcare professional's behaviour, including the use of an HR process, any perceived risk to patient safety should result in the suspension of that healthcare professional.
In commentary from September 2024 published in February 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England maintained that the recommendation was not accepted, stating that its underlying goals could be met through clear guidance and robust investigations (DHSC and NHS England, Feb 2026). The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team recorded in its February 2026 review that the recommendation had not been accepted by the government (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, Feb 2026). In their September 2024 update, the bodies noted that policy frameworks for raising concerns were being developed, alongside national people policy frameworks for providers to adopt locally, which will include a resolution framework (DHSC and NHS England, Feb 2026).
Independent sector NHS contract qualification
We recommend that, if the Government accepts any of the recommendations concerned, it should make arrangements to ensure that these are to be applicable across the whole of the independent sector's workload (i.e. private, insured and NHS-funded) if independent sector providers are to be able to qualify for NHS-contracted work.
In commentary from September 2024 published in February 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England confirmed that the recommendation was not accepted, explaining that differences in operational and governance models between the sectors require different approaches (DHSC and NHS England, Feb 2026). The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team noted in May 2024 that the recommendation was not accepted by the government and was due to be reviewed further (The Thirlwall Inquiry legal team, May 2024). The department had stated in February 2024 that "no further action has been taken in relation to this recommendation" (The Department of Health and Social Care, May 2024).