Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Access to Health Services

You have the right to receive NHS services free of charge, apart from certain limited exceptions sanctioned by Parliament
You have the right to access NHS services. You will not be refused access on unreasonable grounds
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
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
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

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 the required levels of safety and quality
You have a right to expect NHS organisations to monitor, and make efforts to improve, the quality of healthcare they commission or provide
You have the right to drugs and treatments recommended by NICE for use in the NHS if your doctor says they are clinically appropriate for you

You have the right to drugs and treatments recommended by NICE for use in the NHS if your doctor says they are clinically appropriate for you
You have a 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
You have the right to receive the vaccinations that the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and immunisation recommends that you should receive under and NHS-provided national immunisation programme

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
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
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

You have the right to have any complaint you make about NHS services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated
You have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint
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
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
You have the right to compensation where you have been harmed by negligent treatment

You should recognise that you can make a significant contribution to your own and your family's good health and well-being and take some personal responsibility for it
You should register with a GP - the main point of access for NHS care You should treat NHS staff and other patients with respect and recognise that causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises could result in a prosecution
You should provide accurate information about your health, condition and status
You should keep appointments or cancel within reasonable time. Receiving treatment within a maximum waiting time may be compromises unless you do
You should follow the course of treatment which you have agreed and talk to your Clinician if you find this difficult
You should participate in important public health programmes such as vaccination
You should ensure that those closest to you are aware of your wishes about organ donation
You should give feedback - both positive and negative - about the treatment and care you have received including any adverse reactions you may have had

Local Services