NHS patients are to get new legal rights on waiting times from 1 April 2010, Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced today.

Nearly nine out of ten people who responded to a consultation on new legal rights supported the proposals to give patients the right to maximum waiting times for elective treatment and for urgent cancer referrals, or for the NHS to look for an alternative provider if this is not possible.

Following significant support for additional rights in the future, the Department of Health will work with Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care, on developing a right for people to die at home if they wish. Detailed proposals will be set out in the next Parliament.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said:

"Gone are the days of 18 month waiting times. Now average waiting times, from referral to treatment, are around 8 weeks and rapid access to cancer specialists is saving lives across the country. Now we are going to build on this strong foundation."

"Patients and the public have shown their overwhelming support for locking in the progress that the NHS has made by turning targets into rights, we are giving patients the power to demand the services they are entitled to."

"As the NHS continues to improve, so will its Constitution that is why we are already looking ahead at future rights. In particular, we want to press ahead with greater choice around end-of-life care and in the next Parliament we will bring forward proposals on a right for people to choose to die at home if they wish."

"The positive response to this consultation confirms the support for an NHS Constitution. As the NHS strives to move from good to great and becomes more people-centred and preventative, the Constitution will ensure that all the improvements it makes can be safeguarded for generations to come."

Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care, said:

"Giving people the choice over where they spend their last days has the potential to make a huge impact on how and where we care for the dying in this country."

"Marie Curie Cancer Care has been working closely with the Department of Health since 2004 towards ensuring more people are able to die in the place of their choice."

"The challenge now is to make sure we have the right services in the right place at the right time to make this choice a reality for patients and carers in the future."

In addition, nearly eight out of ten supported a new patient right to an NHS Health Check every five years for all those eligible aged 40-74 to assess their risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

The new waiting times right will now be added to the NHS Constitution. This will mean that, from 1 April 2010, patients will have the legal right to start treatment by a consultant within 18 weeks of GP referral and to be seen by a specialist within 2 weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer or, if this doesnt happen, the NHS will be legally obliged to take all reasonable steps to offer them a range of alternative providers. And from 1 April 2012, everyone between 40 and 74 who is eligible will have the legal right to an NHS Health Check every five years.

The consultation also received support for future rights on evening and weekend access to GPs, access to NHS dentistry, and the right to key diagnostic tests for patients suspected of having cancer within one week of seeing a GP, with an interim milestone of 2 weeks.

The NHS Constitution: Government response to consultation on new patient rights can be found here.

The consultation document The NHS Constitution: A consultation on new patient rights can be found here.