HEALTH centres and clinics throughout Leigh and surrounding areas will promote a a patients' rights charter.

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust (Bridgewater) has launched the Patient Charter that will feature on posters and postcards and specialist dental clinics.

Clinicians will also hand out the postcards to their patients so they are aware of the principles that lie at the heart of the organisation’s approach to patient care.

“The Charter is not just a set of words” explained Non Executive Director Dorothy Whitaker, the patient experience lead on the Bridgewater Board.

“It is an extremely important document by which we shall hold ourselves to account. Throughout the next year we shall be monitoring how it has been received, whether our commitment resonates with our patients and how we have responded if/when issues arise.

“This isn’t a document devised by ourselves. Our patients/members made a significant contribution and we are extremely grateful for their support and input. We now need to demonstrate we are able and willing to respond if our patients feel we aren’t upholding the principles within the Charter.”