The Patient’s Charter: a tool for quality improvement? Available to Purchase

Reports on research carried out in 1997/98 which used four different methods in a staged process: literature review, in‐depth interviews, a postal questionnaire and focus groups in acute and primary care. There was a surprising level of agreement between patients, carers and NHS staff about what was wrong with the existing charter and about what a new charter should contain. Patients knew very little about the contents of the Charter. NHS staff were much more knowledgeable and much more critical of its impact on them and NHS services. The overall view was that it had been of limited usefulness. Although there were differences in emphasis, there was almost unanimous agreement about what a new charter should contain: it should be based on the principles of openness, accountability and equity; there should be a much stronger focus on primary and community health care; there should be clearer statements about patients’ rights of access to services; standards which focus on clinical need, effectiveness and health outcomes; and standards for better communication and information in a usable form. A new charter should emphasis the rights and responsibilities of patients and staff. Most important of all, patients and staff should be involved in the development of a new charter so that it will reflect their views.