Improving the NHS Constitution

The NHS, patients and the public are being asked to comment on proposals to improve the NHS Constitution.

The main changes proposed cover:

• a new responsibility for staff to treat patients not only with the highest standards of care, but also with compassion, dignity and respect
• a new commitment to make sure that patients can sleep in single sex wards
• a new commitment to patients that NHS staff will be open and honest with them if things go wrong, or if mistakes happen - this ‘duty of candour’ will become a condition in the NHS Standard Contract from April 2013

The consultation follows work carried out by the NHS Future Forum on how the constitution could be improved.