Although patients already have a number of rights, these are not always widely understood or made use of.  The proposed Bill of Rights’ included a number of measures designed to reinforce and strengthen the rights and responsibilities that patients have, and also created a clear framework for seeking redress when things go wrong. 

The NHS Highland Board considered the proposals contained in the Scottish Government’s consultation paper, and sought comment and feedback from local patient groups, staff and the public to inform their response.  In spite of efforts to raise public awareness locally, and to stimulate active debate, the level of public interest was low.  Here you can see the response submitted by NHS Highland.

In July 2009, the Scottish Government gave their response to the Public Consultation on a Patients' Rights Bill for users of the NHS in Scotland.