The Minister of State, Department of Health (Norman Lamb)
I have launched a public consultation on proposals to strengthen the NHS constitution. These changes include:
strengthening patient involvement and shared decision making;
making clear the importance of patient and staff feedback;
setting out a new duty of candour;
emphasising the importance of integrated care;
clarifying patients’ rights for making complaints;
making clear how patient data is protected and used;
emphasising the importance of valued, empowered and supported staff to the delivery of high quality patient care; and
strengthening commitments to dignity, respect and compassion.
In addition, the Department of Health proposes some minor technical changes to the NHS constitution that are necessary to ensure it reflects legislative changes introduced since its launch in January 2009. This includes making clear that the constitution extends to local authorities in the exercise of their public health functions as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
The changes proposed in the consultation respond to the recent recommendations of the NHS Future Forum working group on the NHS constitution, which was tasked in March 2012 with advising the Secretary of State for Health on whether there was scope for strengthening and reinforcing the constitution. The Government accepts the forum’s recommendations in full.
Following the forum’s conclusion that awareness of the NHS constitution remains too low and should be increased, the consultation document sets out the Department’s commitment to work collaboratively with the NHS Commissioning Board, clinical commissioning groups, and Health Education England to promote and raise awareness of the constitution.
The consultation seeks views on how the NHS constitution can be given greater traction, so that patients, staff and the public know what to do if their expectations are not met. The Department will establish an expert group, which I will chair, to develop proposals to do this. We will consult on these separately in the spring following the report of the public inquiry into the events at Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust.
The consultation will run until 28 January 2013. The Government intend to publish the revised NHS constitution, together with updated supporting documents—the Handbook to the Constitution and Statement of NHS Accountability—by 1 April 2013.
“A consultation on strengthening the NHS constitution” has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.