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Health Minister to lead development of NHS constitution

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 17 October 2008

Health Minister Ann Keen has been confirmed as the new ministerial lead for the NHS Constitution, the Department of Health has announced. She will oversee the development of the Constitution which will empower both patients and staff by clearly setting out their rights and responsibilities in one place for the first time.

The draft Constitution was published on 30 June and is a key part of Lord Darzi's review of the NHS. Over the summer every NHS authority has consulted with local people to gather their feedback. The consultation closes today (Friday 17th October) and responses will now be reviewed to develop a final Constitution.

Commenting on the NHS Constitution Ann Keen said:

"I look forward to leading the process of creating a Constitution which will safeguard the future of the NHS. Our focus over the next few weeks will be to make sure all the feedback we have gathered through consultation over the summer is used to produce a Constittution which reflects the needs of a modern NHS and patients."

Feedback on the draft NHS Constitution has also been gathered centrally by the Department of Health led by a Constitutional Advisory Forum (CAF). The CAF will incorporate consultation responses into a report to be presented to the Secretary of State for Health. An official response to the Consultation will be published following this report.

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Notes to editors:

1. For further information please contact the Department of Health press office on 020 7210 5221

2. The draft NHS Constitution can be viewed online at : http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_085814