Pilot projects to examine commitment on letters

The Department of Health is planning to set up pilot projects to examine aspects of the NHS plan's commitment that patients should receive copies of letters about them, as recommended by the Kennedy report on Bristol.The DoH is planning to issue guidelines based on a working group's recommendations and to run a number of research and evaluation projects before the new policy is implemented in 2004. Issues include the style and content of clinical letters, access by patients with language obstacles, sight impairment and other disabilities and ways of educating the public about clinical issues.