NHS Constitution
Date: 21st January 2009
The NHS Constitution consists largely of optimistic pledges without any incentive for NHS managers to deliver-whether that be through rewards or adverse consequences for failure. Ideally an NHS Constitution should make a real difference to patient and staff experiences as health service providers ensure they meet its rigorous standards and principles.
Director of the Patients Association, Katherine Murphy said “We do not expect this document to make any difference to the care patients are receiving. The Annual Health Check was supposed to drive up standards and yet we see the same Trusts rated as weak year after year*. The Hygiene Code was supposed to ensure cleanliness standards in hospitals but over 50% of Trusts assessed in 2008 failed to meet the required standards^. There are, however, no penalties for failure.
“Patients need to know what the duty in the new Health Bill, requiring NHS organisations to ‘have regard to the NHS Constitution’, will really mean in practice. For the NHS Constitution to be effective, Trusts need to do more than ‘have regard’ to it. The time for NHS management to manage as if their jobs depended on it is long overdue. The time for words like safety, quality, choice and, in this case, Constitution to have the meaning they have elsewhere in life is also long overdue.”
The Patients Association hopes that MPs will work to add a much needed weight to the Health Bill to ensure the NHS Constitution improves health services for their constituents.
For further information please contact Katherine Murphy on 020 8423 9111 or Kieran Mullan 07980 541 946.
*
Examples taken from Healthcare Commission Annual Health Check 2007/2008 Complete data set for Annual Health Check Rating 2007/2008
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust & Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust rated weak for quality of services in 2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2007/2008
Luton Primary Care Trust, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care NHS Trust and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust rated fair for quality of services in 2005/2006 and weak in 2006/2007, 2007/2008
Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Wiltshire Primary Care Trust & Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust rated weak for quality of services in 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.
^
Information taken from Health Commission “Inspection of cleanliness and infection control: how well are acute trusts following the hygiene code?” 2008
Figure 1 Page 10 Assessment of Duty 4c. Premises suitable, clean and well maintained. Over 50% of inspected trusts breached this sub duty.
