Recommendation BRIS-16: Empower patients to decline information, requiring skilled healthcare professional communication
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
Patients should be given the sense of freedom to indicate when they do not want any (or more) information: this requires skill and understanding from healthcare professionals.
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), 5 (personalised information) and 15 (support). .
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. 16, PDF page 76-77.
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 its initiative to improve communication within the NHS and said it would ensure that it was built into training at all levels.
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. 16, PDF page 77.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding