1 Response Accepted in Part

Single consultant data repository

Recommendation

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 the independent sector.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- In December 2021, the government accepted this recommendation in principle, stating that NHS England was developing consultant-level procedure data and that the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) was working to fulfil its Competition and Markets Authority mandate to publish consultant-level data on volumes, outcomes, and patient satisfaction (Government Response to the Paterson Inquiry, DHSC, December 2021).
- The December 2022 implementation update stated that the National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP) had expanded to 104 NHS trusts (77% of all trusts) covering 11 surgical specialties, providing an online portal for consultants to access activity and outcome metrics against local and national benchmarks (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
- The December 2022 update stated that PHIN had published its 2022-2026 delivery plan in July 2022, with a target of 80% coverage of high-risk procedures within three years (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
- No published confirmation that a single cross-sector repository of consultant practice data covering both NHS and independent sector has been established has been identified to March 2026.
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
England
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part Department of Health and Social Care
16 Dec 2021

Accepted in principle. The government is improving data flows to CQC and GMC to give them better oversight of consultants' full scope of practice. NHS England is developing a workforce repository and working with partner organisations to improve data sharing on consultant activity. Work is ongoing to develop solutions that provide meaningful and accessible information for patients and the public. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)

Source
Inquiry Paterson Inquiry
Report Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson 04 Feb 2020
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Department of Health and Social Care Primary
Themes & Tags
Inconsistent Healthcare Data Infrastructure Fragmented NHS record access and information sharing Patient safety governance Data Transparency Consultants Independent Sector NHS
Recommendation age 6.3 yrs
Last formal update 1627 days ago