It will, for the first time, make sure payments to NHS hospitals are adjusted according to patient satisfaction and health outcome, Gordon Brown announced.

He said the legislation would bring forward "radical proposals" to give patients new rights to information about their care, to control their own personal budgets and to have more say over the decisions of their local primary care trust.

"It is right, as we celebrate 60 years of the NHS next month, to introduce a new bill to continue the change and renewal of the NHS," said Mr Brown.

"To equip it to offer a higher standard of care, focus it on prevention as well as treatment, and make it more accountable to local people, giving patients real power and control over the service they receive."

He said the NHS Constitution would "set out what patients can expect to get from the health service including entitlements to minimum standards of access, quality and safety".

The new legislation follows on from the year-long NHS Next Stage Review, led by Health Minister and prominent surgeon Lord Darzi, which is expected to report in the summer.

Last night Health Secretary Alan Johnson, MP for Hull West and Hessle, said: "This week NHS local health authorities have started publishing their visions for providing the best quality care for patients in their communities.

"Every proposal that is emerging is the result of what local clinician, NHS staff and patients have determined is needed across every aspect of healthcare, based on the best clinical evidence.

"The final report will then respond to the challenges set by clinician in each region and ensure that together we can make world-class quality of care a reality for everyone."