NHS Constitution

The NHS belongs to the people, it is here to :

• improve our health and well-being
• aid us to keep mentally and physically well
• to help us get better when we are ill
• when we cannot fully recover, to stay as well as we can to the end of our lives providing care and compassion.

The NHS is founded on a common set of principles and values that bind together the communities and people it serves, patients and public, and the staff who work for it.

This Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. It sets out rights to which patients, public and staff are entitled, and pledges which the NHS is committed to achieve, together with responsibilities which the public, patients and staff over to one another to ensure the NHS operates fairly and effectively. All NHS bodies and private and third sector providers supplying NHS services will be required by law to take account of the constitution in their decisions and actions.

The constitution will be renewed every 10 years, with the involvement of the public, patients and staff. It will be accompanied by the handbook to the NHS constitution, to mean you’d at least every three years.

To view the NHS Constitution in a new window please click on the link Here