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"The NHS belongs to the people"¦ It touches our lives at times of basic human need, when care and compassion are what matter most. It is founded on a common set of principles and values that bind together the communities and people it serves "“ patients and public "“ and the staff who work for it."

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement have been working with organisations from across the NHS to co-design resources that are useful and usable, whether we are setting out to develop new values , refreshing existing values, or checking alignment with the national values in The NHS Constitution.  The Values Development Resource,developed by the NHS, for the NHS, that can help organisations to start to develop and embed their own local values is now available.

It contains approaches that can be used to start a values conversation amongst staff, patients and communities - and a values movement within organisations across the country. This resource contains a range of ideas and inspirations for developing our an organisation's values. This include values related to quality and the patient experience:

• work on values drives staff engagement, which in turn drives improved patient experiences
• values play a critical role in establishing a culture of safety
• health professionals have, for many years, defined their professionalism in terms of core values; and public trust in professionals depends upon recognition of these values.
  

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/NHSConstitution/DH_112939