Posted on 11/11/2009 in Medical Government/ NHS related news Patients using the NHS for treatment in the UK may be offered more options and rights in the future, it has been announced.
New proposals outlined by the service, entitled The NHS Constitution: A Consultation on New Patient Rights, suggest that from April 1st 2010, within 18 weeks of being referred to a GP, patients will have the right to start treatment with a consultant.
Additionally, individuals will have legal rights to maximum waiting times for urgent cancer referrals and elective (non-emergency) procedures.
Those aged between 40 and 74 will also have the right to an NHS health check every five years.
British prime minister Gordon Brown stated: "These measures build on the high standards and rightly rising expectations of patient care."
This news comes after a report released by the Public Accounts Committee this week claimed that the NHS is focusing its attentions on two major hospital superbugs and neglecting to tackle many others in the process.
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