Norman Lamb, Minister of State for Care services, has today made a statement in response to the sentencing of those convicted of abuse at Winterbourne View.

“The abuse of patients at Winterbourne View hospital was horrifying. I hope that these sentences will send a clear message that such criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and that there will be real consequences for the perpetrators.

“We are continuing to work closely with key stakeholders, including service users and carers, to ensure real improvements in the quality of care, and that people with learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges receive the care they need, and should be supported to live in the community wherever possible.

“We will publish the final report of the Winterbourne View review shortly. Alongside that, we will publish an agreement setting out the responsibilities of government, commissioners, providers, professional bodies and regulators and the timetabled actions that each body commits to deliver.

“We will continue to work with voluntary organisations, people with learning disabilities and their families so that they can hold health and social care bodies to account in making sure we deliver real change.”

Read full ministerial statement laid in Parliament

See Department of Health interim report on Winterbourne View

Proposals to strengthen the NHS Constitution are set out for public consultation today, with the NHS, patients and public are all being asked to respond.

The main changes proposed cover:

• a new responsibility for staff to treat patients not only with the highest standards of care, but also with compassion, dignity and respect
• a new pledge making it explicit that patients can expect to sleep in single-sex wards
• a new pledge to patients that NHS staff must be open and honest with them if things go wrong or mistakes happen – this ‘duty of candour’ will become a condition in the NHS Standard Contract from April 2013.

The changes also make it clearer that:

• patients, their families and carers should be fully involved in all discussions and decisions about their care and treatment, including their end of life care
• patients who are abusive or violent to NHS staff could be refused treatment
• the NHS is equally concerned about physical and mental health.

Health Minister Norman Lamb said:

“With this Government, the founding principles of the NHS – free at the point of delivery to all, regardless of their ability to pay – will not only be supported, but reinforced.

“The NHS is one of this country’s greatest achievements. This government will always make sure it is free to all, no matter your age or the size of your bank balance. That’s why at the same time as we are protecting its budget, we are strengthening this Constitution, which enshrines the right of everyone to have first class care, now and in the future.”

• Respond to the consultation online
• Download A consultation on strengthening the NHS Constitution

The consultation follows work carried out by the NHS Future Forum on how the Constitution could be strengthened. The Government accepts the Forum’s recommendations in full and the new proposals reflect this.

The closing date for comments is 28 January 2013.

Responses to the consultation will feed into a revised version of the NHS Constitution, which will be published by April 2013.

This week is Self Care Week, 12-18 November 2012. Self Care Week is an annual national awareness week that focuses on embedding support for self care across communities, families and generations.

In this video, Minister of State for Care and Support Norman Lamb describes the purpose of Self Care Week.

The theme of this year’s Self Care Week is ‘Self Care for Life – growing older healthily’, which builds on the European Active and Healthy Ageing initiative on improving the health knowledge of patients and the public as they get older.

Resources for Self Care Week 2012 are available to help NHS, social care and voluntary sector organisations run local initiatives.

Norman Lamb launched Self Care Week 2012 at the Annual Self Care Conference on 8 November and he said:

“Self Care Week is all about enabling people to have greater control over their health and care. This not only requires changes in behaviour and attitudes, but new ways of working where NHS organisations and healthcare professionals change the way they promote self care to patients so they can become experts in their own care.

“We know that having the right information and support is vital in giving people the confidence to take greater control of their care, but this all depends on better integration of health and social care services, supported by the valuable contribution that the voluntary sector can make to people’s care, alongside the continuing support of families and local communities.”

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb has written to directors of social services and PCT chief executives to gather information on good practice to improve the quality of services for people with learning disabilities and their families. This follows publication of the Department’s interim report on the Review of Winterbourne View Hospital published on 25 June.

The Department is seeking information on how services can deliver the right model of care and deliver better outcomes for people with learning disabilities and/or autism, and behaviour which challenges.

The good practice project, led by the National Valuing Families Forum, working with the National Forum for People with Learning Disabilities, will focus on local authorities and will also reflect good practice in integrated working with the NHS. It aims to find out what good looks like and share this with people with learning disabilities, family carers, and other organisations in the new health and care structure to improve the quality of services.

Read letter on DH Review: Winterbourne View Hospital – Good Practice Project “What Does Good Look Like”

Download: Framework document (PDF)

Download: Framework document (MS Word)

Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb today launched a 12 week consultation on new measures to protect people who rely on care services in the event of provider failure.

A system of checks on the finances of the largest care companies is proposed to give early warning of problems and to challenge financial models which could be unsustainable or compromise quality.

Under the proposals the Government would also introduce regulation of major care providers and, if a provider failed, there would be plans to support a well-managed exit.

The plans announced today, include measures to:

• oversee financial performance of providers
• challenge business models to make sure they can support the delivery of quality care services
• ensure businesses develop plans to recover from financial distress
• provide the regulator with information to develop contingency plans with local authorities for continuing care in the event of a failure
• coordinate and communicate with local authorities and relevant parties in the event of failure to ensure people’s care and support needs continue to be met.

Following the problems caused by the collapse of care provider Southern Cross,  the government promised to consider the introduction of better oversight of the social care market.

Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb, said:

 “We want to make sure every person receiving care and support will continue to get the care they need if a provider exits the market, regardless of whether they are paid for by the state, or pay for care themselves.

 “Southern Cross demonstrated that we need greater oversight of providers’ finances and better plans to support people if their independent provider goes out of business. We want to make sure care providers have plans in place to get their finances back on track and if this is not possible then a co-ordinated exit from the market happens. This means care service users know their needs will continue to be met.”

The Department is seeking views on the plans from care providers, service users, investors and others involved in the social care sector.

If these proposals are taken forward, the legislation would come into force with the Care and Support Bill in April 2015, subject to parliamentary approval.

The 12 week consultation ends on Friday 1 March 2013.

Download a copy of the Market oversight consultation document (PDF,308K)

Download a copy of the consultation response form.

Read the impact assessment and equalities analysis.

If you would like to ask a question to clarify any of the points raised in this consultation please email the Department of Health social care policy and legislation team: market oversight consultation team

Please note: We are aware that the links to the consultation document, response pro forma and equalities analysis are not working for some people. We apologise for this inconvenience, which we are working to rectify as soon as possible. In the meantime, please e-mail the market oversight consultation team and we will e-mail you the documents.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb talks about the Government’s final report on Winterbourne View Hospital.

He discusses:

• solutions for dealing with the issue of people currently in inappropriate long-stay arrangements
• how individuals and their families must be centrally involved in discussions and decisions about care arrangements
• proposals to ensure effective accountability will include inspections without notice by the Care Quality Commission with as much involvement as possible of people with learning disabilities so their perspective can be taken into account
• plans to produce guidelines on the appropriate use of restraint, and to ensure workers are able to whistle-blow when they see things going wrong.

Read the full final Winterbourne View Hospital report

The government has today published its final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital and has set out a programme of action to transform services so that vulnerable people no longer live inappropriately in hospitals and are cared for in line with best practice.

The programme of action includes:

• by spring 2013, the department will set out proposals to strengthen accountability of boards of directors and senior managers for the safety and quality of care which their organisations provide
• by June 2013, all current placements will be reviewed, everyone in hospital inappropriately will move to community-based support as quickly as possible, and no later than June 2014
• by April 2014, each area will have a joint plan to ensure high quality care and support services for all people with learning disabilities or autism and mental health conditions or behaviour described as challenging, in line with best practice
• as a consequence, there will be a dramatic reduction in hospital placements for this group of people
• the Care Quality Commission will strengthen inspections and regulation of hospitals and care homes for this group of people, including unannounced inspections involving people who use services and their families
• a new NHS and local government-led joint improvement team will be created to lead and support this transformation

This programme is backed by a concordat signed by more than 50 partners, setting out what changes they will deliver and by when. The government will publish a progress report on these actions by December 2013.

The final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital states that staff routinely mistreated and abused patients, and management allowed a culture of abuse to flourish. The warning signs were not picked up, and concerns raised by a whistleblower went unheeded.

The report also reveals weaknesses in the system’s ability to hold the leaders of care organisations to account. In addition, it finds that many people are in hospital who don’t need to be. People with learning disabilities or autism, who also have mental health conditions or challenging behaviour can be, and have a right to be, given the support and care they need in the community, near to family and friends.

Read the full final report and related documentation:

• A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital final report
• A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital final report (easy read)
• Concordat: programme of action
• Concordat: programme of action (easy read)
• Winterbourne View review: good practice examples
• Winterbourne View review engagement: a summary of responses
• Winterbourne View: summary of the government response

Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb has announced an extra £40m will be added to the Disabled Facilities Grant to help people remain independent in their own homes for longer.

Speaking today at the Housing Learning and Improvement Network Conference 2012, Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said:

“For people with disabilities and older people, even the simplest things such as walking, getting up the stairs and climbing in and out of the bathtub can become difficult.

“We know that most people want to remain independent and be supported in their own home as far as possible. This funding will help people make the necessary practical changes to help them remain in their own home and prevent or even postpone the development of health and care needs.

“An adaptation can make a huge difference to the life of an older person by helping them access all facilities and all parts of their home safely and independently. Research shows that for every £1,000 spent through the Disabled Facilities Grant, the quality of life gains are estimated at £1,723 per year.”

This extra funding will enable more older people and adults with disabilities to have better quality of life and also help them remain independent and in their own home for longer.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb today announced that 6 local projects have begun work to help improve access to psychological therapies for those with severe mental illnesses.

The 6 NHS demonstration sites are already leaders in the mental health field and have been chosen to implement the National Institute of Clinical Excellence’s recommended psychological therapies.

Over the next 5 months, and into 2013/14, funding of £1.2m will be used to help these trusts share information with other health organisations, about how they deliver the best treatments that lead to improved patient choice and recovery.

Work will include:

• demonstrating how people with severe mental illness and personality disorder can get better access to psychological therapies
• sharing good practice to other services and sharing how improvements in services can be made
• providing good quality data on how services can be improved for patients and identifying the clinical, non-clinical and economic benefits

Norman Lamb said:

“For too long people with the most severe mental illnesses and personality disorders have suffered from poor care, or have been over prescribed anti-psychotic medications.  We are prioritising mental health like never before, making sure that it sits on par with physical health.

 ”We want to see massive improvements in treatment for people with severe mental illnesses, including with better access to psychological therapies.  I am looking forward to seeing the results of our pilots and an improvement in care for those most in need.”

The 6 sites are:

for psychosis

• South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
• Lancashire Care Foundation Trust – Early Intervention Service

for personality disorders

• Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Barnet, Enfield
• Haringey NHS Foundation Trust, and North East London Foundation Trust

for bipolar disorder

• Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust
• Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University

Fnd out more about the demonstration sites

The proposed strengthening of the NHS Constitution will be overseen by an expert group chaired by Minister of State for Care Services Norman Lamb.

The group’s role will be to:

• oversee the consultation on strengthening the NHS Constitution, launched on 5 November, and ensure that the revised Constitution reflects the responses received

• develop a set of proposals to give the NHS Constitution greater traction so that patients, staff and the public are clear what to do, and who to turn to, when their expectations under the Constitution are not met

Health Minister Norman Lamb said:

“The NHS Constitution is an incredibly important document, setting out patients’ rights and reinforcing the values of the NHS.

“Yet too few patients are aware of it, too few staff are aware of its contents, and evidence of its use is scarce. We want to change this. This new group brings together powerful minds to look at how we can give the Constitution real teeth. We will make sure that patients are aware of their rights and what to do if their expectations of the NHS are not met.”

The membership of the new expert group is based on the membership of the previous NHS Future Forum working group on the Constitution, which provided advice on how the Constitution could be strengthened. Additional members representing organisations with statutory duties to promote the Constitution and who have expertise in complaints and redress have been invited to join this group.

Members

• Mr Norman Lamb MP (Chair) – Minister of State for Care and Support
• Dr Charles Alessi – Senior GP Partner, The Churchill Practice
• Ms Vicky Bailey – CEO Principle CCG
• Ms Anna Bradley – Chair, Healthwatch England
• Ms Sally Brearley – Patient Representative and lay member, National Quality Board
• Mr Howard Catton – Head of Policy and International, Royal College of Nursing
• Mr Shaun Clee – CEO 2gether NHS Foundation Trust
• Dr Jocelyn Cornwell – Director, Point of Care Programme, Kings Fund
• Ms Jane Cummings – Director of Nursing, NHS North of England SHA Cluster
• Dr Vin Diwaker – Medical Director, Birmingham Children’s Hospital
• Professor Steve Field – Deputy National Medical Director (Health Inequalities), NHS Commissioning Board
• Dr Jennifer Harries – Joint Director of Public Health, NHS Norfolk & Waveney Cluster and Norfolk County Council
• Dr Peter Hay – President, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS)
• Ms Brenda Hennessey – Director of Patient Experience & Public Engagement, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Fund Trust
• Ms Jo Lenaghan – Director of Policy, National Quality Team
• Ms Christina McAnea – Co-chair of Social Partnership Forum; National Secretary for Health, Unison
• Dr Vivienne McVey – Commercial Director, Virgin Care
• Dr Hamish Meldrum – General Practitioner and former Chairman of the British Medical Association
• Dame Julie Mellor – Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman
• Sir Keith Pearson – Chair, Health Education England
• Mr Ash Soni – Community Pharmacist, and Clinical Network Lead, NHS Lambeth
• Mr Jason Stamp – Strategic patient and public involvement and lay member
• Mr Jeremy Taylor – Chief Executive, National Voices
• Mr Stephen Thornton – Chief Executive, The Health Foundation
• Ms Paula Vasco-Knight – Chief Executive, South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Member of Equality and Diversity Councils

Norman Lamb, Minister of State for Care services, has today made a statement in response to the sentencing of those convicted of abuse at Winterbourne View.

“The abuse of patients at Winterbourne View hospital was horrifying. I hope that these sentences will send a clear message that such criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and that there will be real consequences for the perpetrators.

“We are continuing to work closely with key stakeholders, including service users and carers, to ensure real improvements in the quality of care, and that people with learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges receive the care they need, and should be supported to live in the community wherever possible.

“We will publish the final report of the Winterbourne View review shortly. Alongside that, we will publish an agreement setting out the responsibilities of government, commissioners, providers, professional bodies and regulators and the timetabled actions that each body commits to deliver.

“We will continue to work with voluntary organisations, people with learning disabilities and their families so that they can hold health and social care bodies to account in making sure we deliver real change.”

Read full ministerial statement laid in Parliament

See Department of Health interim report on Winterbourne View

Proposals to strengthen the NHS Constitution are set out for public consultation today, with the NHS, patients and public are all being asked to respond.

The main changes proposed cover:

• a new responsibility for staff to treat patients not only with the highest standards of care, but also with compassion, dignity and respect
• a new pledge making it explicit that patients can expect to sleep in single-sex wards
• a new pledge to patients that NHS staff must be open and honest with them if things go wrong or mistakes happen – this ‘duty of candour’ will become a condition in the NHS Standard Contract from April 2013.

The changes also make it clearer that:

• patients, their families and carers should be fully involved in all discussions and decisions about their care and treatment, including their end of life care
• patients who are abusive or violent to NHS staff could be refused treatment
• the NHS is equally concerned about physical and mental health.

Health Minister Norman Lamb said:

“With this Government, the founding principles of the NHS – free at the point of delivery to all, regardless of their ability to pay – will not only be supported, but reinforced.

“The NHS is one of this country’s greatest achievements. This government will always make sure it is free to all, no matter your age or the size of your bank balance. That’s why at the same time as we are protecting its budget, we are strengthening this Constitution, which enshrines the right of everyone to have first class care, now and in the future.”

• Respond to the consultation online
• Download A consultation on strengthening the NHS Constitution

The consultation follows work carried out by the NHS Future Forum on how the Constitution could be strengthened. The Government accepts the Forum’s recommendations in full and the new proposals reflect this.

The closing date for comments is 28 January 2013.

Responses to the consultation will feed into a revised version of the NHS Constitution, which will be published by April 2013.

This week is Self Care Week, 12-18 November 2012. Self Care Week is an annual national awareness week that focuses on embedding support for self care across communities, families and generations.

In this video, Minister of State for Care and Support Norman Lamb describes the purpose of Self Care Week.

The theme of this year’s Self Care Week is ‘Self Care for Life – growing older healthily’, which builds on the European Active and Healthy Ageing initiative on improving the health knowledge of patients and the public as they get older.

Resources for Self Care Week 2012 are available to help NHS, social care and voluntary sector organisations run local initiatives.

Norman Lamb launched Self Care Week 2012 at the Annual Self Care Conference on 8 November and he said:

“Self Care Week is all about enabling people to have greater control over their health and care. This not only requires changes in behaviour and attitudes, but new ways of working where NHS organisations and healthcare professionals change the way they promote self care to patients so they can become experts in their own care.

“We know that having the right information and support is vital in giving people the confidence to take greater control of their care, but this all depends on better integration of health and social care services, supported by the valuable contribution that the voluntary sector can make to people’s care, alongside the continuing support of families and local communities.”

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb has written to directors of social services and PCT chief executives to gather information on good practice to improve the quality of services for people with learning disabilities and their families. This follows publication of the Department’s interim report on the Review of Winterbourne View Hospital published on 25 June.

The Department is seeking information on how services can deliver the right model of care and deliver better outcomes for people with learning disabilities and/or autism, and behaviour which challenges.

The good practice project, led by the National Valuing Families Forum, working with the National Forum for People with Learning Disabilities, will focus on local authorities and will also reflect good practice in integrated working with the NHS. It aims to find out what good looks like and share this with people with learning disabilities, family carers, and other organisations in the new health and care structure to improve the quality of services.

Read letter on DH Review: Winterbourne View Hospital – Good Practice Project “What Does Good Look Like”

Download: Framework document (PDF)

Download: Framework document (MS Word)

Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb today launched a 12 week consultation on new measures to protect people who rely on care services in the event of provider failure.

A system of checks on the finances of the largest care companies is proposed to give early warning of problems and to challenge financial models which could be unsustainable or compromise quality.

Under the proposals the Government would also introduce regulation of major care providers and, if a provider failed, there would be plans to support a well-managed exit.

The plans announced today, include measures to:

• oversee financial performance of providers
• challenge business models to make sure they can support the delivery of quality care services
• ensure businesses develop plans to recover from financial distress
• provide the regulator with information to develop contingency plans with local authorities for continuing care in the event of a failure
• coordinate and communicate with local authorities and relevant parties in the event of failure to ensure people’s care and support needs continue to be met.

Following the problems caused by the collapse of care provider Southern Cross,  the government promised to consider the introduction of better oversight of the social care market.

Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb, said:

 “We want to make sure every person receiving care and support will continue to get the care they need if a provider exits the market, regardless of whether they are paid for by the state, or pay for care themselves.

 “Southern Cross demonstrated that we need greater oversight of providers’ finances and better plans to support people if their independent provider goes out of business. We want to make sure care providers have plans in place to get their finances back on track and if this is not possible then a co-ordinated exit from the market happens. This means care service users know their needs will continue to be met.”

The Department is seeking views on the plans from care providers, service users, investors and others involved in the social care sector.

If these proposals are taken forward, the legislation would come into force with the Care and Support Bill in April 2015, subject to parliamentary approval.

The 12 week consultation ends on Friday 1 March 2013.

Download a copy of the Market oversight consultation document (PDF,308K)

Download a copy of the consultation response form.

Read the impact assessment and equalities analysis.

If you would like to ask a question to clarify any of the points raised in this consultation please email the Department of Health social care policy and legislation team: market oversight consultation team

Please note: We are aware that the links to the consultation document, response pro forma and equalities analysis are not working for some people. We apologise for this inconvenience, which we are working to rectify as soon as possible. In the meantime, please e-mail the market oversight consultation team and we will e-mail you the documents.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb talks about the Government’s final report on Winterbourne View Hospital.

He discusses:

• solutions for dealing with the issue of people currently in inappropriate long-stay arrangements
• how individuals and their families must be centrally involved in discussions and decisions about care arrangements
• proposals to ensure effective accountability will include inspections without notice by the Care Quality Commission with as much involvement as possible of people with learning disabilities so their perspective can be taken into account
• plans to produce guidelines on the appropriate use of restraint, and to ensure workers are able to whistle-blow when they see things going wrong.

Read the full final Winterbourne View Hospital report

The government has today published its final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital and has set out a programme of action to transform services so that vulnerable people no longer live inappropriately in hospitals and are cared for in line with best practice.

The programme of action includes:

• by spring 2013, the department will set out proposals to strengthen accountability of boards of directors and senior managers for the safety and quality of care which their organisations provide
• by June 2013, all current placements will be reviewed, everyone in hospital inappropriately will move to community-based support as quickly as possible, and no later than June 2014
• by April 2014, each area will have a joint plan to ensure high quality care and support services for all people with learning disabilities or autism and mental health conditions or behaviour described as challenging, in line with best practice
• as a consequence, there will be a dramatic reduction in hospital placements for this group of people
• the Care Quality Commission will strengthen inspections and regulation of hospitals and care homes for this group of people, including unannounced inspections involving people who use services and their families
• a new NHS and local government-led joint improvement team will be created to lead and support this transformation

This programme is backed by a concordat signed by more than 50 partners, setting out what changes they will deliver and by when. The government will publish a progress report on these actions by December 2013.

The final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital states that staff routinely mistreated and abused patients, and management allowed a culture of abuse to flourish. The warning signs were not picked up, and concerns raised by a whistleblower went unheeded.

The report also reveals weaknesses in the system’s ability to hold the leaders of care organisations to account. In addition, it finds that many people are in hospital who don’t need to be. People with learning disabilities or autism, who also have mental health conditions or challenging behaviour can be, and have a right to be, given the support and care they need in the community, near to family and friends.

Read the full final report and related documentation:

• A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital final report
• A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital final report (easy read)
• Concordat: programme of action
• Concordat: programme of action (easy read)
• Winterbourne View review: good practice examples
• Winterbourne View review engagement: a summary of responses
• Winterbourne View: summary of the government response

Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb has announced an extra £40m will be added to the Disabled Facilities Grant to help people remain independent in their own homes for longer.

Speaking today at the Housing Learning and Improvement Network Conference 2012, Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said:

“For people with disabilities and older people, even the simplest things such as walking, getting up the stairs and climbing in and out of the bathtub can become difficult.

“We know that most people want to remain independent and be supported in their own home as far as possible. This funding will help people make the necessary practical changes to help them remain in their own home and prevent or even postpone the development of health and care needs.

“An adaptation can make a huge difference to the life of an older person by helping them access all facilities and all parts of their home safely and independently. Research shows that for every £1,000 spent through the Disabled Facilities Grant, the quality of life gains are estimated at £1,723 per year.”

This extra funding will enable more older people and adults with disabilities to have better quality of life and also help them remain independent and in their own home for longer.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb today announced that 6 local projects have begun work to help improve access to psychological therapies for those with severe mental illnesses.

The 6 NHS demonstration sites are already leaders in the mental health field and have been chosen to implement the National Institute of Clinical Excellence’s recommended psychological therapies.

Over the next 5 months, and into 2013/14, funding of £1.2m will be used to help these trusts share information with other health organisations, about how they deliver the best treatments that lead to improved patient choice and recovery.

Work will include:

• demonstrating how people with severe mental illness and personality disorder can get better access to psychological therapies
• sharing good practice to other services and sharing how improvements in services can be made
• providing good quality data on how services can be improved for patients and identifying the clinical, non-clinical and economic benefits

Norman Lamb said:

“For too long people with the most severe mental illnesses and personality disorders have suffered from poor care, or have been over prescribed anti-psychotic medications.  We are prioritising mental health like never before, making sure that it sits on par with physical health.

 ”We want to see massive improvements in treatment for people with severe mental illnesses, including with better access to psychological therapies.  I am looking forward to seeing the results of our pilots and an improvement in care for those most in need.”

The 6 sites are:

for psychosis

• South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
• Lancashire Care Foundation Trust – Early Intervention Service

for personality disorders

• Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Barnet, Enfield
• Haringey NHS Foundation Trust, and North East London Foundation Trust

for bipolar disorder

• Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust
• Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University

Fnd out more about the demonstration sites

The proposed strengthening of the NHS Constitution will be overseen by an expert group chaired by Minister of State for Care Services Norman Lamb.

The group’s role will be to:

• oversee the consultation on strengthening the NHS Constitution, launched on 5 November, and ensure that the revised Constitution reflects the responses received

• develop a set of proposals to give the NHS Constitution greater traction so that patients, staff and the public are clear what to do, and who to turn to, when their expectations under the Constitution are not met

Health Minister Norman Lamb said:

“The NHS Constitution is an incredibly important document, setting out patients’ rights and reinforcing the values of the NHS.

“Yet too few patients are aware of it, too few staff are aware of its contents, and evidence of its use is scarce. We want to change this. This new group brings together powerful minds to look at how we can give the Constitution real teeth. We will make sure that patients are aware of their rights and what to do if their expectations of the NHS are not met.”

The membership of the new expert group is based on the membership of the previous NHS Future Forum working group on the Constitution, which provided advice on how the Constitution could be strengthened. Additional members representing organisations with statutory duties to promote the Constitution and who have expertise in complaints and redress have been invited to join this group.

Members

• Mr Norman Lamb MP (Chair) – Minister of State for Care and Support
• Dr Charles Alessi – Senior GP Partner, The Churchill Practice
• Ms Vicky Bailey – CEO Principle CCG
• Ms Anna Bradley – Chair, Healthwatch England
• Ms Sally Brearley – Patient Representative and lay member, National Quality Board
• Mr Howard Catton – Head of Policy and International, Royal College of Nursing
• Mr Shaun Clee – CEO 2gether NHS Foundation Trust
• Dr Jocelyn Cornwell – Director, Point of Care Programme, Kings Fund
• Ms Jane Cummings – Director of Nursing, NHS North of England SHA Cluster
• Dr Vin Diwaker – Medical Director, Birmingham Children’s Hospital
• Professor Steve Field – Deputy National Medical Director (Health Inequalities), NHS Commissioning Board
• Dr Jennifer Harries – Joint Director of Public Health, NHS Norfolk & Waveney Cluster and Norfolk County Council
• Dr Peter Hay – President, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS)
• Ms Brenda Hennessey – Director of Patient Experience & Public Engagement, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Fund Trust
• Ms Jo Lenaghan – Director of Policy, National Quality Team
• Ms Christina McAnea – Co-chair of Social Partnership Forum; National Secretary for Health, Unison
• Dr Vivienne McVey – Commercial Director, Virgin Care
• Dr Hamish Meldrum – General Practitioner and former Chairman of the British Medical Association
• Dame Julie Mellor – Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman
• Sir Keith Pearson – Chair, Health Education England
• Mr Ash Soni – Community Pharmacist, and Clinical Network Lead, NHS Lambeth
• Mr Jason Stamp – Strategic patient and public involvement and lay member
• Mr Jeremy Taylor – Chief Executive, National Voices
• Mr Stephen Thornton – Chief Executive, The Health Foundation
• Ms Paula Vasco-Knight – Chief Executive, South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Member of Equality and Diversity Councils