Public: Divided on NHS constitution

The public is divided on whether an NHS constitution needs to be created, according to a poll carried out by inthenews.co.uk.

Health secretary Alan Johnson announced at the end of June that a constitution would be created as part of changes to the NHS under the Next Stage Review.

It will outline what patients are entitled to as well as letting staff know what they can expect.

Despite the government's belief that the NHS constitution will benefit staff and patients, just under half of the survey's respondents (47 per cent) said they believed it needs to be created.

Another issue dividing the public is rewarding healthcare providers.

The Next Stage Review plans to give better rewards to GPs who provide good access and high quality care and funding for hospitals will reflect the quality of care that patients receive.

As such patients' own assessments of the success of their treatment and the quality of their experiences will have a direct impact on the way hospitals are funded.

Nearly six in ten (59 per cent) said they did not think it was right to reward healthcare providers with the best quality care.

Other findings include that the majority (94 per cent) of respondents agree with the government's emphasis on quality rather than targets and over eight in ten (82 per cent) said it is right for the government to reform the NHS.