Local NHS community encourages everyone to have their say on first ever national constitution
The NHS across Bournemouth and Poole is encouraging as many people as possible to respond to the Department of Health consultation about a draft Constitution for the NHS.
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 Government will be obliged by law to renew the NHS constitution every ten years and there will be a new legal duty on all NHS organisations to take account of the Constitution in decisions that are made.
Angela Schofield, Chairman of Bournemouth and Poole Teaching Primary Care Trust said: “The NHS in Bournemouth and Poole is committed to involving patients and the public in the development of NHS services and I would like to encourage as many local people as possible to take the opportunity to feedback to the Department of Health their thoughts about this draft Constitution for the NHS.
"The core value of the NHS is to provide high quality services free at the point of need, respecting the dignity of patients. This document aims to safeguard these values and principles, making clear the rights and duties of patients and staff to ensure that the NHS continues to develop and enhance its services.”
Peter Harvey, Chairman of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “As an NHS Foundation Trust, Poole Hospital is accountable to the local community and this consultation on the draft NHS Constitution gives our patients and staff an unprecedented opportunity to have their say on some of the fundamentals of the health services. I hope that all the members of our Foundation Trust will respond to this chance to make known their views on the future of the NHS.”
Sheila Collins, Chairman of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS Foundation Trust said: 'The draft constitution for the NHS is a groundbreaking document which sets out for the first time in one place both the rights and the responsibilities of patients, NHS staff and NHS organisations. Its contents affect us all and each one of us should take the opportunity to respond to the consultation and in that way help shape this important document.”
Jonathan Walsh, Chairman of Dorset HealthCare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I would encourage all members of the public as well as service users, staff and carers to review the Constitution and feed their comments back to our Trust”.
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.
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.
The draft Constitution and consultation, booklets for staff and patients and the Constitution handbook can be found at www.dh.gov.uk/consultations.
The consultation will run until 17 October.
Further Information
The rights for patients 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.
The draft NHS Constitution is a short declaratory document. All the rights and pledges are underpinned by existing law or policy, except the new right to choice.
The legislation to put a requirement on the Secretary of State for Health to renew the Constitution every ten years and for NHS organisations to take account of it will be introduced in the next session as part of the new NHS Reform Bill.
Date: 1 October 2008