Recommendation BRIS-15: Inform patients they can have a chosen person present when receiving information
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
Patients should be told that they may have another person of their choosing present when receiving information about a diagnosis or a procedure.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
DHSC and NHS England say in progress (27 February 2026)
Please see our responses to Recommendations 1 (patient centred care), 2 (shared decision-making), 4 (patient information) and 5 (personalised information).
The NHS website has guidance and suggestions for how to get the most from your outpatients or day case visits. This includes asking someone to come to your appointment to support.
NICE guidelines set out key approaches to managing discussions with patients, supporting them to make choices in their own time. The guidelines focus on:
• encouraging people to talk about what is important to them
• understanding the principles that support shared decision making, based on an evidence-based model (for example, the three-talk model)
• communicating with people in a way they can understand, using clear language, avoiding jargon and explaining technical terms
• sharing and discussing the information people need to make informed decisions, and making sure they understand the choices available to them (including the choice of doing nothing or not changing the current plan)
• communicating with and involving family members, friends, carers, advocates or other people who the person chooses to include
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 “Implemented – Ongoing”. Table row: section 6.2 No. 15, PDF page 76.
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 its January 2002 response, the Department of Health referred to a patient’s leaflet published in July 2001 encouraging patient to take someone with them to a consultation if they wished.
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. 15, PDF page 77.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding