The NHS Constitution was published on 21 January 2009 and revised in March 2010. It was one of a number of recommendations in Lord Darzi's report 'High Quality Care for All' which was published on the 60th anniversary of the NHS and set out a ten-year plan to provide the highest quality of care and service for patients in England.
What is the NHS Constitution?
The NHS Constitution brings together, for the first time, the principles, values, rights and responsibilities that determine the way that the NHS acts and makes decisions.
It is designed to secure and renew the commitment to the enduring principles of the NHS, making sure that healthcare services continue to be relevant to the needs of patients, the public and staff in the 21st century.
What does it do?
The NHS Constitution sets out clearly what everyone can expect from the NHS - staff, patients and the public. But it also explains the responsibilities that each of us have to make the very best of limited resources and improve our own health and well-being.
This includes your rights as an NHS patient:
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how patients access health services;
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the quality of care you'll receive;
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the treatments and programmes available to you;
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confidentiality;
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information and your right to complain if things go wrong.
The NHS Constitution also confirms that the NHS belongs to us all.
How will it help?
As new health challenges arise - such as obesity and the consequences of people living longer - the NHS must continue to change to meet the needs of its staff, patients and the public. But the foundations on which the NHS was built must be protected - and remain constant.
By setting these out clearly in the NHS Constitution, we can all have confidence that the NHS can provide a high-quality health service now and for future generations.
Who is it for?
The NHS belongs to us all - staff, patients and the public. The NHS Constitution sets out what everyone can expect from the NHS - and what we can all do to help it to work more effectively.
How was it created?
The NHS is made up of all the different people who use and deliver its services. The NHS Constitution has been created after a wide consultation, research and discussions with staff, patients, members of the public and health service experts. It will be renewed every ten years to make sure that it continues to meet everyone's needs.
The content in detail
Principles that guide the NHS
Seven key principles guide the NHS in all it does. They are underpinned by core NHS values which have been derived from extensive discussions with staff, patients and the public.
NHS values
Patients, public and staff have helped develop this expression of values that inspire passion in the NHS and should guide it in the 21st century. Individual organisations will develop and refresh their own values, tailored to their local needs. The NHS values provide common ground for co-operation to achieve shared aspirations.
Patients and the public: rights and NHS pledges to you
Everyone who uses the NHS should understand what legal rights they have. For this reason, important legal rights are summarised in the Constitution
The Constitution also contains pledges that the NHS is committed to achieve. Pledges go above and beyond legal rights. This means that pledges are not legally binding but represent a commitment by the NHS to provide high quality services.
Responsibilities of patients and the public
The NHS belongs to all of us. There are things that we can all do for ourselves and for one another to help it work effectively, and to ensure resources are used responsibly.
NHS staff: rights and NHS pledges to you
It is the commitment, professionalism and dedication of staff working for the benefit of the people the NHS serves which really make the difference. High quality care requires high quality workplaces, with commissioners and providers aiming to be employers of choice.
Responsibilities of NHS staff
All staff have responsibilities to the public, their patients and colleagues.
Downloads
The NHS Constituion
Download the full text of the NHS Constitution
Handbook to the NHS Constitution
The handbook to the NHS Constitution gives NHS staff and patients all the information they need about the NHS Constitution in one place. It acts as a guide to:
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patients’ rights and pledges
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responsibilities of patients and the public and staff
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staff rights and NHS pledges to its staff
At the back of the handbook is an appendix, which outlines the legal source for both the patient and staff rights in the NHS Constitution.
Consultation on new patient rights
A consultation on the inclusion of new patient rights into the NHS Constitution was held between November 2009 and February 2010.
The proposals received very high levels of support and have resulted in the creation of a new patient right to access services within maximum waiting times or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer a range of alternative providers is this is not possible. This right applies to the 18-week and 2-week cancer referral standards and will commence on 1 April 2010.
Interactive guide
This interactive version of the NHS Constitution is designed to help you navigate through all of the supporting information that you may need when reading the NHS Constitution. By using this interactive NHS Constitution, you should be able to find the information that you need more easily.
Easy Read guide to the NHS Constitution
An ‘easy read’ version of the Constitution is available. "Easy read" is the term used to refer to information that has been made more accessible for people with learning disabilities.
This type of information can also be a useful tool for other groups, such as people with low literacy levels or those whose first language is not English. It can also be used by carers or other service providers to help explain more complex information.
There's also an Easy Read guide for patients
Guide for NHS staff
This leaflet is aimed at NHS staff. It provides background information about the NHS Constitution and - most importantly - explains those parts that are relevant to NHS staff.
