Rights

A right is a legal entitlement protected by law. The NHS Constitution brings together the rights for patients established by law and by obligations imposed on NHS bodies and other healthcare providers.

 Access to health services

1. You have the right to receive NHS services free of charge, apart from certain limited exceptions sanctioned by Parliament

2. You have the right to access NHS services. You will not be refused access on unreasonable grounds

3. You have the right to expect your local NHS to assess the health requirements of the local community and to commission and put in place the services to meet those needs as considered necessary

4. You have the right, in certain circumstances, to go to other European Economic Area countries or Switzerland for treatment which would be available to you through your NHS commissioner

5. You have the right not to be unlawfully discriminated against in the provision of NHS services including on grounds of gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability (including learning disability or mental illness) or age

6. You have the right to access services within maximum waiting times, or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer you a range of alternative providers if this is not possible. The waiting times are described in the Handbook to the NHS Constitution

What this right means for patients

The source of this right

Quality of care and environment

1. You have the right to be treated with a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff, in a properly approved or registered organisation that meets required levels of safety and quality

2. You have the right to expect NHS organisations to monitor, and make efforts to improve, the quality of healthcare they commission or provide

What this right means for patients

The source of this right

Nationally approved treatments, drugs and programmes

1. You have the right 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

2. You have the right to expect local decisions on funding of other drugs and treatments to be made rationally following a proper consideration of the evidence. If the local NHS decides not to fund a drug or treatment you and your doctor feel would be right for you, they will explain that decision to you

3. You have the right to receive the vaccinations that the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation recommends that you should receive under an NHS-provided national immunisation programme

What this right means for patients

The source of this right

Respect, consent and confidentiality

1. You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, in accordance with your human rights

2. You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests

3. You have the right to be given information about your proposed treatment in advance, including any significant risks and any alternative treatments which may be available, and the risks involved in doing nothing

4. You have the right to privacy and confidentiality and to expect the NHS to keep your confidential information safe and secure

5. You have the right of access to your own health records. These will always be used to manage your treatment in your best interests

What this right means for patients

The source of this right

Informed choice

1. You have the right to choose your GP practice, and to be accepted by that practice unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse, in which case you will be informed of those reasons

2. You have the right to express a preference for using a particular doctor within your GP practice, and for the practice to try to comply

3. You have the right to make choices about your NHS care and to information to support these choices. The options available to you will develop over time and depend on your individual needs. Details are set out in the Handbook to the NHS Constitution

What this right means for patients

The source of this right

Involvement in your healthcare and in the NHS

1. You have the right to be involved in discussions and decisions about your healthcare, and to be given information to enable you to do this

2. You have the right to be involved, directly or through representatives in:
 - the planning of healthcare services; 
 - the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way
   those services are provided; and
 - decisions to be made affecting the operation of those services

What this right means for patients

The source of this right

Complaint and redress

1. You have the right to have any complaint you make about the NHS services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated

2. You have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint

3. You have the right to take your complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman, if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the NHS

4. You have the right to make a claim for judicial review if you think you have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body

5. You have the right to compensation where you have been harmed by negligent treatment

What this right means for patients

The source of this right