The Constitution sets out your rights as an NHS patient.
These rights are:
- Access to health services
- Quality of care and environment
- Access to approved treatments, drugs and programmes
- Respect, consent and confidentiality
- Informed choice
- Involvement in your healthcare and the NHS
- Complaint and redress
The NHS constitution also makes a series of pledges to patients, saying what people can expect under each of these areas.
The constitution also sets out what the NHS expects from patients to play their part to stay well and help services work well for everyone. This includes:
- taking personal responsibility for looking after your own, and your family’s health and wellbeing
- registering with a GP practice
- following courses of treatment you’ve agreed to
- always treating NHS staff and other patients with respect
- keeping GP and hospital appointments – or if you have to cancel, doing so in good time
- giving feedback – positive or negative – about treatment you’ve received.