What Are Your Rights as an NHS Patient?

Patients are often unsure about what they are entitled to expect from the NHS, and that uncertainty is greatest when something goes wrong. 

Every NHS patient is entitled to safe and competent care. Whilst the law does not demand perfection or the best possible outcome, it does require the care to meet the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner, and that the opinion relied on to justify a decision can withstand logical scrutiny. 

Key Takeaways:

• Patients have the right to entitled to safe and competent care however this doesn’t guarantee perfection. 
• You have the right to informed consent, to be listened to, to be able to raise complaints, and the right to compensation if there is negligence. 

What Standard of Care Are NHS Patients Entitled To?

Patients have the right to receive professional care from appropriately qualified and experienced healthcare professionals.

This means that your treatment should meet an acceptable standard of care, with your symptoms properly assessed, appropriate investigations carried out and suitable treatment provided.

In practice, this may involve:

1. A proper assessment of their symptoms and history;
2. Investigations appropriate to those symptoms;
3. An accurate and timely diagnosis, or where a diagnosis is uncertain, an appropriate plan for investigation or treatment;
4. Treatment to be carried out competently, with complications recognised and managed;
5. A second opinion; 
6. Appropriate monitoring, and escalation if required;
7. Safe prescribing and medication administration;
8. Appropriate follow-up, including communication of test results and onward referrals.

Right to Informed Consent and Treatment Decisions

Patients have the right to information to help them make an informed decision about their care. No treatment should be given without valid consent; therefore, clinicians must take reasonable care to ensure that patients are aware of the material risks of the proposed treatment and the reasonable alternatives. It is a patient’s right to be involved in the decisions made about their care.

Right to be Listened to

Martha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative which is now being rolled out across NHS hospitals. Under this, patients, families and carers have the legal right to request an urgent 24/7 second clinical review from an independent senior medical team if a patient’s condition rapidly deteriorates and concerns are not being heard. 

Right to Complain

Patients have the right to make a complaint properly investigated and to be told the outcome. If they remain unsatisfied they have the right to escalate this to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman or take legal action. A complaint can secure an explanation, an apology and changes in practice.

It’s important to note that a bad outcome is not automatically a breach of duty of care. Treatments carry known risks; conditions progress despite good care and decisions that look wrong in hindsight may have been justifiable at the time. Patients have a right to reasonable care; however, this does not guarantee a good result. 

Right to Honesty

In the event that there has been poor care, patients have a right to honesty. Clinicians must act openly and honestly when a notifiable incident has caused or may cause significant harm, therefore a Duty of Candour letter must be sent outlining a truthful account of what is known, providing an apology where applicable and explaining what further enquiries will take place and offering support. Whilst apologies are not admissions of negligence, patients are entitled to honesty and transparency when things go wrong. 

Right to be Compensation

Finally, patients have a right to be compensation where they have been harmed by negligent treatment. If you believe that you or a loved one has experienced negligence, we can help you with your next steps. 

How Can We Help?

If you think you have a medical negligence claim, get in touch with one of our medical negligence solicitors in Stoke by calling 0178 232 4454, complete our contact form, or send us an email via info@smithpartnership.co.uk.

We also have expert medical negligence solicitors at our offices across the East Midlands and Staffordshire, Burton, Derby, Leicester and Swadlincote.