Department of Health: New constitution to secure the NHS for the future
01 July 2008
A draft Constitution that enshrines the principles and values of the NHS for the future was published today for consultation by the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson.
The first of its kind in the world, the Constitution follows extensive discussions with staff, patients and the public over the last year. It reaffirms the rights to NHS services, free of charge without discrimination of any kind. For the first time, it will bring together in one place and clarify for staff and patients their rights and responsibilities to ensure the NHS operates fairly and effectively.
The Constitution also recognises that the NHS is too important to be left to chance. The Government will be obliged by law to renew the NHS constitution every ten years so that any changes are the result of a full and transparent debate and cannot be changed by stealth. We will place a new legal duty on all NHS organisations to take account of the Constitution in decisions that are made.
For patients, the Constitution collects together important rights around access to drugs and treatments, health services, information, quality of care and environment, dignity & respect and complaint and redress. These include:
- The right to drugs and treatments approved by NICE for use in the NHS if clinically appropriate. Patients will also have a right to expect local decisions on funding of other drugs, where NICE has yet to issue guidance or where NICE will not be appraising a drug, to be made rationally following proper consideration of the evidence. If the local NHS decides not to fund a drug that a patient and their doctor feel would be right for them, the PCT will have to explain that decision to them. We will also work with NICE to speed up the process for appraising new drugs so that NICE can issue the majority of its appraisal guidance within a few months of a new drug's launch;
- The right to make defined choices about your NHS care with clear options. This is a new legal right which will give patients the right to make choices about their healthcare based on information made easily accessible by the NHS so those choices are real and informed. This includes the right to choose your GP practice and express a preference for consulting a particular doctor. Enshrining the right in the Constitution will make sure that choice endures and becomes a core feature of a responsive NHS in the 21st Century;
- The right to be treated with dignity and respect and given a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff in a clean and safe environment;
- The right to complaint and redress. The constitution sets out a number of rights and pledges to ensure patients and the public are able to make complaints and get access to swift redress if they are unhappy with their healthcare. We do not want to create a litigious culture with the development of an NHS Constitution, but we do want to ensure that it has enough teeth to make a difference.
At the same time, it is important that patients play their part too and recognise they have responsibilities to help the NHS work effectively. Although patients will still be treated based on clinical need, there will be an onus on them to contribute to their own good health and take some personal responsibility. Patients will also be expected to register with a GP and keep appointments, or cancel within a reasonable time.
For staff, the draft constitution recognises that it is their commitment, loyalty, professionalism and dedication that really makes a difference to patients' quality of care and experience. A series of pledges are outlined which the NHS will strive to deliver to ensure that staff are provided with rewarding jobs and with the training and support they need to do their jobs as well as they can.
The Constitution also reaffirms the enduring values of the NHS, based on discussions with staff, patients and the public. They include values such as respect and dignity, compassion, commitment to quality of care and putting patients first in everything the NHS does.
To read the constitution in full go to: Department of Health News
Source: Department of Health: Monday 30 June 2008 15:30
