Recommendation BRIS-90: Council to review revalidation systems and incorporate managers into professional development
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
The new Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals should take as a further priority an early review of the various systems of revalidation and re-registration to ensure that they are sufficiently rigorous, and in alignment both with each other and with other initiatives to protect the public. The Council should also seek ways to incorporate managers (as healthcare professionals) into the systems of CPD, appraisal and revalidation.
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 Recommendation 46/70 (Professional standards); 71 (Professional Standards Authority).
The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) oversees the professional regulators, working with them to improve the way that professionals are regulated. They also have powers to assess and accredit organisations who register practitioners, who are not regulated by law, and work closely with the Government by giving policy advice and encouraging research to improve regulation.
The new government’s manifesto in 2024 includes a commitment to introduce professional standards for NHS managers and bring them into regulation. The department is currently exploring options for taking this work forwards.
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 Their reviewed extent of implementation reads “Superseded”.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. 90, PDF page 111.
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 the Council would have a critical role in ensuring consistency across the regulatory bodies.
The Department said it would develop a code of conduct for senior managers, which was later published in October 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. 90, PDF page 101.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding