Recommendation BRIS-125: Formulate national clinical standards from patient-centred perspective, based on best evidence.
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
National standards of clinical care should reflect the commitment to patient-centred care and thus in future be formulated from the perspective of the patient. The standards should address the quality of care that a patient with a given illness or condition is entitled to expect to receive from the NHS. The standards should take account of the best available evidence. The standards should include guidance on how promptly patients should get access to care. They should address the roles and responsibilities of the various healthcare professionals who will care for the patient. They should take account of the patient’s journey from primary care, into the hospital system (if necessary), and back to primary and community care, and of the necessary facilities and equipment.
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 response to recommendation 124.
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. 125, PDF page 127.
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 National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines were developed to ensure that clinical standards were focused on the patient, with special versions of guidance written for patients and carers.
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. 125, PDF page 112.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding