1 The National Health Service British Prime Minister John Major announced a new Citizen’s Charter in July 1991. This implied a change of attitude for the NHS: patients should be seen as customers with rights, rather than as people who should be grateful for treatment, however long the wait. From April 1992, hospitals would have to set standards for maximum waiting times.

This followed on from the 1989 NHS White Paper, Working for Patients, which was designed to achieve: