7 NHS Founding Principles

The NHS provides a comprehensive service, available to all.

• It is available to all irrespective of gender, race, disability, age, sexuality, religion etc..

• The service is designed to improve, prevent, diagnose and treat both physical and mental health problems with equal regard.

• It has a wider social duty to promote equality through the services it provides, and to pay particular attention to groups or sections of society where improvements in health and life expectancy are not keeping pace with the rest of the population

Access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay.

NHS services are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by the Parliament such as charges for prescriptions, dental services, or optical care etc., where patients may need to pay.

The NHS aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism.

• It provides high quality care that is safe, effective and focused on patient experience.

• It also provides support, education, training and development for its staff.

• The NHS focuses on advancing healthcare through research and innovation, which leads to improvements in treatments and health outcomes.

The patient will be at the heart of everything the NHS does.

• It should support individuals to promote and manage their own health.

• Its services must reflect the needs and preferences of patients, their families and their carers.

The NHS works across organisational boundaries.

• The NHS works in partnership with other organisations in the interest of patients, local communities, and the wider population.

• The NHS is an integrated system of organisations and services bound together by the principles and values reflected in the Constitution.

The NHS is committed to providing the best value for taxpayers’ money.

• The NHS is committed to providing the most effective, fair and sustainable use of finite resources.

• Public funds for healthcare will be devoted solely to the benefit of the people that the NHS serves.

The NHS is accountable to the public, communities and patients that it serves.

• Since the NHS is funded by national taxes, it is the government's responsibility to set overall policies and ensure the service operates effectively, and it must report to Parliament for its performance.

• However, when it comes to individual patient care, the decisions about treatment are typically made locally by healthcare professionals in consultation with patients. This allows for personalized care while maintaining accountability to the broader public for the NHS's overall function