BRIS-142
Response
Historic
AI-assessed
Prioritise quality and safety for specialist services; fund patient travel and accommodation
Recommendation
Where the interests of securing quality of care and the safety of patients require that there be only a small number of centres offering a specialist service, the requirements of quality and safety should prevail over considerations of ease of access. It is and should be the responsibility of the NHS to assist patients, and their families or carers, with the cost of transport and accommodation when they have to travel away from home to receive specialist services. Such support should not be the subject of a means test. (See further Recommendations 181 and 182 on specialist services for children.)
Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
No specific published evidence has been identified detailing policies that explicitly prioritise quality and safety for specialist services to the extent of limiting the number of centres, or specific provisions for the NHS to assist patients, families, or carers with the cost of transport and accommodation as a direct outcome of this recommendation. No recommendation-specific search results were provided in the evidence, and the inquiry concluded in 2001.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Historic
Response
HistoricNo government response recorded.
Themes & Tags
Recommendation age
24.7 yrs
Last formal update
No formal updates