MP Welcomes New NHS Entitlements

David Taylor has welcomed plans for new legally enforceable rights for patients set out by the Prime Minister and Health Minister Andy Burnham this week.

David said “The NHS has made enormous progress in the last 12 years. Waiting times are the shortest since records began; 3 million more operations are carried out each year; there are over 100 new or refurbished hospitals; and more people are surviving cancer, strokes and heart disease.

“But we must never be complacent and I’m delighted that next, we will introduce three legally enforceable rights:

• To a free health check every five years for those aged 40-74.
• To see a cancer specialist within 2 weeks.
• To treatment within 18 weeks.

“These are rights that we will put in place as soon as possible in the New Year. If our local NHS Trust cannot meet these guarantees they will - by law - have to find you somewhere which can treat you as soon as possible, even if it is in the private sector.

“And we are also consulting on the new rights which will be our ambition for the health service over the next few years, including:

• The right to diagnostic cancer tests and results within a week - our cancer pledge.
• The right to see a GP at weekends or in the evening, and to abolish practice boundaries for good.

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