Department of Health

Website of the Department of Health

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Human rights

About the Department's work on human rights, including the ‘Human Rights in Healthcare’ project and guidance on the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998

Human Rights in Healthcare project

The Department of Health in conjunction with the British Institute of Human Rights has a project to support NHS Trusts to develop human rights-based approach to health care. A human rights based approach involves actively applying key human rights principles in policy, practice and service delivery.

The project will deliver:

  • A suite of human rights products that can be used by Trusts across the NHS
  • A series of human rights learning events
  • A robust business case for human rights based approaches, and identifying key success factors

Human rights in healthcare - a framework for local action

Published: 27/03/2007

This document provides NHS Trusts with guidance on implementing human rights based approached to health care.

Reports from learning events

Published: 30/09/2008

Reports from three human rights in healthcare learning events held nationally. The reports provide an overview of the learning event and highlights key learning and discussion from the events.

Human rights resources

Resources produced by NHS trusts.

Human Rights Act

The Human Rights Act 1998, which came into force in full on 2nd October 2000, is a key part of the Government's programme to modernise the constitution. It incorporates into domestic law the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to which the UK has been committed since 1951.

Further guidance on the Human Rights Act can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

Find the answers to common human rights questions

The NHS Litigation Authority is now providing an information service on how human rights issues affect healthcare delivery

Case studies

These examples, as far as possible, draw on cases where articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were relied on or used in argument. They include cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECtHR) and cases in the UK courts.  Only articles thought most likely to give rise to issues are dealt with (but issues could arise under other articles). The examples are not exhaustive but only illustrative of the kind of considerations that should continue to inform best practice in the services

Guidance on contracting for services in the light of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA)

Recent conflicting legal decisions have left public authorities and contractors unsure whether or not the users of services contracted out to non-public sector organisations are covered by the HRA. The Government has therefore published guidance which recommends such users can obtain protection equivalent to the HRA through specifying in the service contract the levels of performance required.

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