Patient choice - it's official: new NHS constitution

The Department of Health has today announced the launch of a new NHS Constitution. "The Constitution will give power to patients and the public by bringing their existing rights together in one place so they know what they are legally entitled to - and how they can exercise their rights as well as understanding their responsibilities".





Patient 'Rights' include:





  • A right to make choices about your care and to information to help exercise that choice


  • A new legal right to receive the vaccinations that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommends that you should receive under an NHS-provided national immunisation programme


  • A right making explicit your entitlement to drugs and treatments


  • that have been recommended by NICE for use in the NHS, if your doctor says they are clinically appropriate for you


  • A right to expect local decisions on funding of other drugs and treatments to be made rationally following a proper consideration of the evidence


  • Clear and comprehensive rights to complaint and redress




We see this development as it is very much a part of our own role i.e. the provision of the essential medical information needed to inform that 'choice'. We think it is important that everyone has the right information and access to the right practitioners.

intermittent claudication Full medical glossary
The means of producing immunity by stimulating the formation of antibodies. Full medical glossary