NHS patients are to get new legal rights on waiting times from this month. As from 1 April 2010, they will have the legal right to start treatment with a consultant within 18 weeks of GP referral and to be seen by a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer.
If this does not happen, the NHS will be legally obliged to take all reasonable steps to offer a range of alternative providers. Nearly nine out of ten people who responded to a consultation on the new rights supported the proposals. In addition, following significant support for additional rights in the future, the Department of Health will also work with Thomas Hughes-Hallett, chief executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care, on developing a right for people to die at home if they wish. Nearly eight out of ten people also supported a new patient right to an NHS Health Check every five years for all those eligible aged 40-74, to assess risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. The consultation also received support for future rights on evening and weekend access to GPs.
