Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the accountability of the NHS to patients.

The NHS Constitution sets out the rights that patients have, and the further standards that they should expect the National Health Service to meet, empowering them to exercise their rights and have constructive conversations with health professionals about their care. It also includes information on how to complain if things go wrong. The ‘How to complain’ webpage also details support available if a patient chooses to complain and the escalation process.

Healthwatch England is a statutory consultee on the annual mandate to the NHS and provides views that reflect the insights gathered by the Healthwatch network on what matters to patients. Healthwatch England’s views are also sought when performance against the mandate is assessed. The assessment is laid in Parliament and published on GOV.UK.