The NHS is there for us from the moment we are born.

It takes care of us and our family members when we need it most.

At the heart of the NHS is its constitution, a legal document which has been put together with the involvement of public, patients and staff.

The constitution has recently been revised to include some important changes based on the recommendations made by the report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry which looked at the quality of care being provided to patients at the trust.

Many people are probably not familiar with the NHS constitution but I would recommend that everyone takes the time to look at it.

The constitution sets out your rights as a patient, ranging from patient’s access to health services, the quality of care you’ll receive, the treatments and programmes available to you, confidentiality, information and your right to complain if things go wrong.

You can find the NHS constitution by going to the gov.uk website.

Also included in the constitution is the patient and public’s responsibility to look after our own health and the health of our loved ones by ensuring we are registered with a GP practice, keeping our appointments or cancelling at an appropriate time, following the course of treatment which we have agreed and participating in important public health programmes such as vaccines.

All NHS bodies, and private and third sector providers that supply NHS services, are required by law to take account of the constitution in their decisions and actions as it establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England.

As a local healthcare commissioner, we are committed to the constitution and will embed it in everything that we do.

It provides the foundations for all that we do within the NHS and everyone – whether a patient, member of the public or health care professional – needs to be aware of this important document, take it seriously and make it work on an everyday basis.