NHS Constitution for England

Overview

The NHS Constitution for England aims to safeguard the enduring principles and values of the NHS, and to empower the public, patients and staff to help improve the care it provides by setting out their existing legal rights and the pledges that the NHS has made towards them in one place, and in clear and simple language. It also sets out clear expectations about the behaviour of both staff and patients, and the role they need to play in supporting the NHS.

This handbook is designed to give the public, patients, carers, families and NHS staff additional information they need about every aspect of the NHS Constitution. It will be of use to organisations that support and advise them.

The first and second parts of the handbook explain the NHS guiding principles and values set out in the constitution.

The third part is a guide to patients’ rights, including their legal sources, and the further pledges that the NHS has made towards them. It also sets out the responsibilities that patients and the public have for looking after their own health, for working in partnership with NHS staff, and for using NHS resources well and sustainably.

The fourth part explains the rights of NHS staff, and the further pledges the NHS made towards them to help them deliver high quality and compassionate care and to make the NHS a better place to work. It also sets out the expectations the NHS has of staff.

References to the NHS and NHS services in the constitution and this handbook include local authority public health services unless an exception is set out in the text.