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Principles and values

Principles and values Principles of the NHS

Seven key principles guide the NHS in all it does. These principles are underpinned by core NHS values, which have been derived from extensive discussions with staff, patients and the public.

1. The NHS provides a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
2. Access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay.
3. The NHS aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism
4. NHS services must reflect the needs and preferences of patients, their families and their carers.
5. The NHS works across organisational boundaries and in partnership with other organisations in the interest of patients, local communities and the wider population.
6. The NHS is committed to providing best value for taxpayers’ money and the most effective, fair and sustainable use of finite resources.
7. The NHS is accountable to the public, communities and patients that it serves. The NHS is a national service funded through national taxation, and it is the Government which sets the framework for the NHS and which is accountable to Parliament for its operation.

Values of the NHS

Our values are the things we believe are most important in a modern NHS. This list of values was drawn up after talking to patients, NHS staff and the wider public.

We have 6 main values:

1. Respect and dignity
   We value each person as an individual, respect their aspirations and commitments in life, and seek to understand their priorities, needs, abilities and limits. We take what others have to say seriously. We are honest about our point of view and what we can and cannot do.
2. Commitment to quality of care
   We strive to get the basics right every time: safety, confidentiality, professional and managerial integrity, accountability, dependable service and good communication. We welcome feedback, learn from our mistakes and build on our successes.
3. Compassion
   We respond with humanity and kindness to each person’s pain, distress, anxiety or need. We search for the things we can do, however small, to give comfort and relieve suffering. We find time for those we serve and work alongside. We do not wait to be asked, because we care.
4. Improving lives
   We strive to improve health and well-being and people’s experiences of the NHS. We value excellence and professionalism wherever we find it – in the everyday things that make people’s lives better as much as in clinical practice, service improvements and innovation.
5. Working together for patients
   We put patients first in everything we do, by reaching out to staff, patients, carers, families, communities, and professionals outside the NHS. We put the needs of patients and communities before organisational boundaries.
6. Everyone counts
   We use our resources for the benefit of the whole community, and make sure nobody is excluded or left behind. We accept that some people need more help, that difficult decisions have to be taken – and that when we waste resources we waste others’ opportunities. We recognise that we all have a part to play in making ourselves and our communities healthier.

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