A consultation on the inclusion of new patient rights into the NHS Constitution was held between November 2009 and February 2010.
The proposals received very high levels of support and have resulted in the creation of a new patient right to access services within maximum waiting times or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer a range of alternative providers is this is not possible.
This right applies to the 18-week and 2-week cancer referral standards and will commence on 1 April
