Recommendation BRIS-57: Prioritise non-clinical skills in healthcare professional education and development
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
Greater priority than at present should be given to non-clinical aspects of care in six key areas in the education, training and continuing professional development of healthcare professionals:
skills in communicating with patients and with colleagues;
education about the principles and organisation of the NHS, and about how care is managed, and the skills required for management;
the development of teamwork;
shared learning across professional boundaries;
clinical audit and reflective practice; and
leadership.
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 response to Recommendations 1 (Patient-centred care), 2 (Shared decision-making); 3 (team communications): 5 (personalised information); 19 (team communications).
Professional regulators such as the GMC set generic standards expected of medical education and training organisations and the outcomes students and doctors in training should achieve. This includes capabilities in leadership and teamwork, professional skills and in patient safety and quality improvement.
The NMC standard of proficiency for registered nurses also includes non-clinical competencies.
There is an HEE toolkit which is a step-by-step guide to help progress a ‘one workforce’ approach across health and care organisations and ICSs. ‘One workforce’ is intended to be indicative of a workforce drawn from a range of health and social care disciplines, working seamlessly as a productive, multifunctional team across clinical pathways.
Health Education England was merged into NHS England in 2023. Relevant work being taken forward by the Workforce, Training and Education directorate is set out in Recommendation 50.
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. 57, PDF page 98.
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
Thirlwall Inquiry legal team (27 February 2026)
The Government agreed with this recommendation.
n its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said it was working with regulatory and professional bodies and educators to ensure that from 2002 these core skills were included in all NHS-funded professional programmes and clinical undergraduate training.
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 dated April 2025, published 27 February 2026). 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. 57, PDF page 98.
Earlier findings (1)
Thirlwall Inquiry legal team (15 May 2024)
The Government agreed with this recommendation.
In its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said it was working with regulatory and professional bodies and educators to ensure that from 2002 these core skills were included in all NHS-funded professional programmes and clinical undergraduate training.
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. 57, PDF page 91.
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding