The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 places a duty on Scottish Ministers to publish a Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities.  The relevant provision in the Act will come into force on 1 April 2012 and the Charter has to be published within 6 months of this provision coming into force. The Charter will be launched on 1 October 2012.

We have been working closely with the Scottish Government to develop a draft Charter summarising the rights and responsibilities people have when using NHS services in Scotland.

As well as completing an initial draft of the content of the Charter, we have been working on the design. The draft is currently with the Scottish Government who will carry out an internal consultation over the coming weeks.

Once this has been completed, we intend to consult with external key stakeholders and then begin user-testing with patients and members of the public by late 2011.

In addition to the Charter itself, we will also consider options for producing supporting information for patients and members of the public. This maybe in the form of leaflets or factsheets.

To find out more about this work email the team.

(news article published: 29 August 2011)