Recommendation BRIS-129: Make public the national clinical care standards patients expect from NHS.
From Bristol Heart Inquiry — Final Report, published 18 July 2001.
Recommendation
Standards of clinical care which patients are entitled to expect to receive in the NHS should be made public.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
DHSC and NHS England say in progress (27 February 2026)
The Thirlwall Inquiry has noted action taken in response to this recommendation.
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. 129, PDF page 128-129.
Site note: DHSC and NHS England's entry for this recommendation says that the Thirlwall Inquiry noted action taken on it. The entry gives no other account of what was done.
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 the National Institute for Clinical Excellence already published its guidance and produced versions tailored to patients’ and carers’ needs.
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 colours its Extent of Implementation cell for this recommendation green, which it uses to mark evidence, identified by the legal team, that a recommendation has been clearly implemented. Table row: section 6.2 No. 129, PDF page 113-114.
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- DHSC and NHS England
Delivery statement - Thirlwall Inquiry legal team
Finding