A TEN-YEAR Constitution for the NHS was unveiled by Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday – but offered nothing new for patients battling to get expensive drugs.

The £1m document sets out what patients can expect from the NHS, including access to non-approved drugs and a service based on need, not ability to pay.

Patients are told they have the right to choose a GP practice and to be accepted by that practice ‘‘unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse’’, in which case an explanation should be given.

The constitution sets out a patient’s rights when it comes to drugs not approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) for use on the NHS.

The document states: ‘‘If the local NHS decides not to fund a drug or treatment you and your doctor feel will be right for you, they will explain that decision to you.’’ Health Secretary Alan Johnson said: ‘‘Bringing together all its principles, all its values, its rights and responsibilities clearly set out in an accessible document will make a difference.

“This will, I think, contribute towards ending the postcode lottery.’’ But Katherine Murphy, director of the Patients Association, said: ‘‘We do not expect this document to make any difference to the care patients are receiving.

‘‘Patients need to know what the duty in the new Health Bill, requiring NHS organisations to ‘have regard to the NHS Constitution’, will really mean in practice. The time for NHS management to manage as if their jobs depended on it is long overdue.’’ Earlier this month the Northern Echo highlighted the case of Paul Blades, from North Yorkshire, who has been kept alive by a new wonder drug called Erbitux, developed to fight advanced bowel cancer and available in Europe and the US.

But Nice has ruled that Erbitux does not represent good value for money and so it is not available on the NHS.

This meant Mr Blades, 47, who lives in Harnby, near Leyburn, had to find more than £40,000 to pay for treatment.

Mr Brown and Mr Johnson signed a copy of the constitution in a ceremony at Downing Street attended by NHS staff and representatives from the healthcare sector.

Mr Brown said the signing marked a ‘‘momentous day in the 61st year of the health service’’, adding: ‘‘It will give every patient the sense that they are treated not as a number but as an individual.’’ Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: ‘‘This NHS Constitution contains no new rights or powers for patients, and there are no repercussions for trusts who breach it.”

Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, said: “In its current form, it is unclear how the constitution will change the everyday experiences of patients and staff.”