NHS health content

Help patients and the public find clinically important information and decide what to do next. Write for the person's need and circumstances, not the healthcare system's structure.

Establish the clinical boundary

• Use only current, recognized evidence and verified service information supplied for the task.
• Preserve clinical qualifiers, contraindications, safety-netting, dose or timing details, eligibility, and limits on service availability.
• Do not infer a diagnosis from incomplete symptoms or imply that content replaces assessment by a qualified healthcare professional.
• Keep medical uncertainty visible. Distinguish can, may, usually, and will.
• Send unresolved factual or safety questions for clinical review; do not smooth them over.

Start with the patient need