Health news

New rights for Scottish NHS patients

25^th February 20100 - NHS patients in Scotland have more rights after the Patient Rights bill was passed.

Although we refer to the NHS as if it is one system across the UK, health care is “devolved” in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Parliament has now guaranteed patients a 12-week treatment time, new advice and support services and a legal right to complain.

A Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities will also be published at a later stage.

The Treatment Time Guarantee should ensure that eligible patients will begin their treatment within 12 weeks of it being agreed.

NHS bodies will have a legal duty to encourage patients to give feedback or comments about their treatment. Ministers may also give directions to NHS organisations about the use of conciliation or mediation to try to resolve any complaints.

In a statement the Scottish Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, says the new measures “will reassure everyone that if they have concerns about care or services, they are exercising their legal right in raising a complaint.”

Mixed reaction

Reacting to the bill, Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of the Patients Association says in a statement:  “The NHS Constitution set out the rights for patients in England in March 2010 and we are pleased to see that a similar bill has now been passed to benefit patients in Scotland.

“The Patients Association welcomes initiatives that recognise patients’ rights and puts them at the centre of the health service. Patients need to know what they are entitled to from the NHS so that they can assess when they are receiving a good standard of service and when they are being short changed. Patients need to know that if they are not getting the care they deserve they have a right to complain.”

The doctors’ organisation, the BMA in Scotland, says the treatment time guarantee for patients does not include any rights to redress and that nothing in the legislation will be enforceable.

In a statement, Dr Charles Saunders, Deputy Chairman of BMA Scotland, says: “On paper it would seem obvious why politicians and the public might find the patient rights bill appealing. But the introduction of a treatment time guarantee will have serious and negative consequences for patients and the health service. This bill is more about political rhetoric than patient rights and our patients deserve better.”