Independent report

NHS Constitution: recommendations by Expert Advisory Group

Expert Advisory Group’s recommendations on how to make the NHS Constitution more practical and meaningful for patients and staff in England.

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The Expert Advisory Group to the NHS Constitution has made 10 recommendations to the department and national and local organisations in the health system to increase the impact of the NHS Constitution.

The report recommends several ways to bring the NHS Constitution to life and ensure it is a practical tool for patients, including:

  • a national awareness campaign funded by the Department of Health and NHS England
  • easy-to-read versions of the NHS Constitution to make it more accessible for patients
  • a guide to complaints and feedback to sit alongside the NHS Constitution
  • monitoring the extent to which patients’ and staff’s rights and pledges are being met by NHS providers

The expert Group was set up in January 2013 to:

  • oversee the strengthening of the NHS Constitution, resulting in a revised edition of the NHS Constitution in March 2013
  • develop proposals to increase the impact of the NHS Constitution so that patients, staff and the public are clear what to do and who to turn to when their expectations under the NHS Constitution are not met.
Published 13 March 2014
Last updated 10 June 2014 + show all updates
  1. Minutes of the roundtable discussion of ‘Next steps for the NHS Constitution: recommendations by the Expert Advisory Group to the NHS Constitution’ 13 March 2014 added

  2. First published.