Recommendation BRIS-87: Incorporate periodic appraisal requirement into General Practitioners' terms of service
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
The requirement to undergo periodic appraisal should also be incorporated into GPs’ terms of service.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
DHSC and NHS England state no delivery position (27 February 2026)
Please see response to Recommendation 46 (Professional Standards) Every licenced doctor who practises medicine must revalidate to show they are up to date and fit to practise at least every 5 years. The GMC sets out guidance for doctors requirements for revalidation, stating that doctors should usually revalidate once every five years.
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 Their reviewed extent of implementation reads “Superseded”. Table row: section 6.2 No. 87, PDF page 110.
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 said that GP appraisal was under negotiation. GP appraisals were introduced later in 2002.
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. 87, PDF page 100.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding