Patient rights set out in NHS rules
Hospitals which fail to consult with patients and their families over end-of-life care decisions and breach rights to single-sex ward accommodation could face legal action under new rules being unveiled.
Care services minister Norman Lamb said a new legal obligation in the NHS constitution would make "clear and explicit" the right of patients and their families to be informed over end-of-life treatment decisions. He added that the constitution would make clear that patients had a right to expect single-sex accommodation.
Mr Lamb said there had been a "very substantial" reduction in the number of patients being treated on mixed-sex wards.
"Ultimately the commissioners, which is the doctors groups, the clinical commissioning groups which are there on behalf of patients, can challenge the provider of care that has breached this right," he told BBC Breakfast.
Speaking about the right to be consulted over end-of-life care decisions, he said: "Legally, every provider of NHS care, whether it is in the public or the private sector, has to take account of the NHS constitution. It is a legal obligation, they should all be following what it says."
The move to strengthen the rules on involving individuals and families in treatment decisions has followed an outcry over secretive use of the Liverpool Care Pathway, which involves withdrawal of fluids and food.
Under the measures being put out for consultation, health trusts that fail to discuss issues properly could be sued. Doctors who ignore the wishes of patients and relatives face being struck off. The move will mean that, for the first time, the coalition's policy on single-sex wards would be included in the constitution.
Marie Curie Cancer Care welcomed the proposed new legal right for patients to be consulted on end-of-life care decisions. But the charity said the Government should go further and called for the next independent national audit of the Liverpool Care Pathway to be brought forward.
Andy Burnham MP, Labour's shadow health secretary, said: "I welcome this move to strengthen families' rights in end-of-life care.
"I support the Liverpool Care Pathway, but it is absolutely essential that it is properly explained to people. Families must be fully involved and consulted at every stage."
