Recommendation BRIS-80: Involve NHS and public in establishing selection criteria for healthcare professionals
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
The NHS and the public should be involved in (a) establishing the criteria for selection and (b) the selection of those to be educated as doctors, nurses and as other healthcare professionals.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
DHSC and NHS England say partially delivered (27 February 2026)
Please see Recommendation 46 (Professional standards).
Professional regulators regularly consult to make sure policies are well informed and meet the needs of healthcare professional and patients in the UK. Examples include:
• The NMC standards for education and training include the standards framework for nursing and midwifery education. The NMC last consulted on these in 2021 via a public survey • Current GMC consultations. From 27 April to 20 July 2022 the GMC ran a public consultation on the updated Good medical practice, its guidance on the standards of care and professional behaviour it expect from all medical professionals registered with it.
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 “Partially Implemented –Ongoing”. Table row: section 6.2 No. 80, PDF page 107-108.
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 principle.
In its January 2002 response, the Department of Health said that all recruitment and admission procedures were based on published criteria to assist transparency and that it was committed to encouraging broad participation in selection procedures.
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. 80, PDF page 98.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding