Know your rights
An end to long waiting times
From March of this year, you now have legal rights, as a patient, surrounding the maximum waiting times for elective treatment and for urgent cancer referrals.
The Department of Health will also work with Marie Curie Cancer Care to develop a new right to die at home for those who wish to. The announcements are the result of a national consultation on adding new patient rights into the NHS Constitution.
If this commitment isn't met, the NHS will have to take all reasonable steps to offer patients a range of alternative providers. Nine out of ten people who took part in the consultation supported this new right.
To find out more go to the NHS Constution page of our website.
You can also download a copy of the full Constitution on the right hand side.
For more information on shorter waiting times see the End waiting, change lives website.
