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By Newsdesk
Saturday, March 16, 2013.
Children
have been denied an understanding and awareness of their rights as
patients because the health service’s most important document – the NHS
Constitution - is not accessible for them. The National Children’s
Bureau (NCB) urges the Government to produce a child friendly version to
ensure young people are able to exercise their right to high quality
health care in the same way as adults.
NCB
consulted children and young people and found that while they wanted to
know more about their rights as patients, few of them had any awareness
of the NHS Constitution – the key document where those rights are set
out.
In
a consultation response published recently, NCB is calling for the
creation of a children’s version of the strengthened NHS Constitution,
which presents patient rights specifically as they apply to children and
young people, in language they can easily understand. Furthermore, the
participation of children should be championed by the Constitution so
they are involved in decision making across the board: from the
development of the health services they use to the design of the
Constitution itself.
Dr
Hilary Emery, Chief Executive of NCB said: “The revision of the NHS
constitution is an opportunity for a shared understanding about health.
To be truly effective for children and young people and help them take
responsibility for their health they need an accessible and relevant
version. Producing such a version can empower them to get better health
care by understanding what they should expect and how to access
information held about them. If we have an NHS constitution geared
toward their needs all our children will have better health outcomes and
this will benefit the whole population in the long term.”
Christine
Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children said: “For
disabled children and those with complex health conditions, the NHS
Constitution is an essential means of holding the NHS to account.
Children and young people who are cared for by a range of health,
education and social care professionals need the Constitution to make
clear their right to fully integrated care packages; one of the concerns
consistently raised by disabled children and their families. It is
critical that the NHS Constitution better represents children’s needs
and that any child friendly version of the Constitution is accessible to
disabled children.”
The
National Children's Bureau is a leading research and development
charity working to improve the lives of children and young people,
especially the most vulnerable. It works with children, for children to
reduce the impact of inequalities, by influencing government policy,
being the voice for 200,000 front-line professionals, and inspiring
practical solutions on a range of social issues including health,
education and youth justice, through its extensive research and evidence
work.
The
NHS Constitution contains key patient rights on issues such as consent,
access to health records and involvement in decisions about individual
care, which have unique implications for children and young people
developing their confidence in accessing health services independently.
The coalition government’s Health Minister Norman Lamb said:
“With
this Government, the founding principles of the NHS – free at the point
of delivery to all, regardless of their ability to pay – will not only
be supported, but reinforced. The NHS is one of this country’s greatest
achievements. This government will always make sure it is free to all,
no matter your age or the size of your bank balance. That’s why at the
same time as we are protecting its budget, we are strengthening this
Constitution, which enshrines the right of everyone to have first class
care, now and in the future.”
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