NHS Values-Based Recruitment: The 6 Values Explained
NHS values-based recruitment means you are assessed not only on skills and experience, but on whether your behaviour aligns with the six values of the NHS Constitution. Those values are: working together for patients; respect and dignity; commitment to quality of care; compassion; improving lives; and everyone counts. Employers look for evidence of these values in your supporting information, at interview and in scenario-based assessments — the aim is to recruit people whose personal values match the NHS, because values shape how staff treat patients and colleagues.
The practical point for your application: naming a value scores nothing — you have to demonstrate it. Writing "I am compassionate" is a claim; describing a time you noticed and responded to a patient's distress shows compassion in action. The strongest statements weave the values into concrete STAR examples that also evidence the person-specification criteria, so a single example does double duty: proving a skill and demonstrating a value through behaviour.
What values-based recruitment actually is
Values-based recruitment (VBR) is an NHS-wide approach that recruits people whose individual values and behaviours align with the values of the NHS Constitution. The thinking is simple: skills can be trained, but values shape how someone behaves toward patients and colleagues under pressure.
According to NHS Employers, VBR is delivered through methods such as pre-screening assessments, values-based interviewing (including role-play and written responses to scenarios) and assessment-centre approaches. NHS Employers also publishes a behaviour framework with examples of behaviours that do and do not align with each value. For your written application, the takeaway is that your supporting information is one of the first places these values are assessed — so it needs to evidence them, not just mention them.
The six NHS Constitution values, in plain English
The NHS Constitution sets out six core values:
- Working together for patients — patients come first in everything we do.
- Respect and dignity — value every person as an individual and respect their needs and limits.
- Commitment to quality of care — get the basics (safety, effectiveness, patient experience) right every time.
- Compassion — respond with humanity and kindness to each person's distress or need.
- Improving lives — strive to improve health, wellbeing and people's experience of the NHS.
- Everyone counts — use resources for the whole community and make sure nobody is excluded.
These six are distinct from the "6Cs" (Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage, Commitment), which are a related framework — but the Constitution's six values are what values-based recruitment is built on.
6 NHS values vs the 6Cs — don't confuse them
Candidates often mix up the six NHS Constitution values with the 6Cs. They overlap (compassion appears in both) but they are different frameworks from different sources. The six NHS Constitution values underpin values-based recruitment and the NHS Constitution itself. The 6Cs — Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage, Commitment — were developed as a nursing and care vision and are clearly linked to, but not identical to, the Constitution values.
For a job application, lead with the six Constitution values, because that is what VBR assesses against. If a specific advert or Trust explicitly references the 6Cs, mirror their language — but never assert a framework the advert doesn't use.
How to evidence a value so it counts
The rule is: behaviour over adjectives. A shortlister using a behaviour framework is looking for what you did, not what you call yourself.
Weak: "I am passionate about dignity and respect." Strong: "An elderly patient was distressed at being washed by unfamiliar staff; I arranged for the same two carers each morning and recorded her preferences in the care plan, and her family later told the ward she felt safe." The second version evidences respect and dignity, compassion and quality of care in one STAR example — and it would also evidence person-spec criteria like patient-centred care. Build one such example per value you need to show, and make sure each lands on a result.
| NHS value | What it means | Evidence it by describing… |
|---|---|---|
| Working together for patients | Patients come first | A time you coordinated across a team to put a patient's needs first |
| Respect and dignity | Treat each person as an individual | Protecting a patient's dignity or honouring their preferences |
| Commitment to quality of care | Get the basics right every time | Spotting or fixing a safety/quality issue |
| Compassion | Humanity and kindness | Responding to someone's distress or unmet need |
| Improving lives | Improve health and experience | An action that improved a patient's outcome or experience |
| Everyone counts | Nobody excluded | Adapting care for someone at risk of being left behind |
Reported NHS vacancy rate (as at 31 March 2026) — values-based recruitment is how the NHS fills those posts with the right people, not just the right CVs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the six NHS values?
The six core NHS Constitution values are: working together for patients; respect and dignity; commitment to quality of care; compassion; improving lives; and everyone counts. These are the values that NHS values-based recruitment assesses candidates against.
What is values-based recruitment in the NHS?
It is an approach that recruits people whose personal values and behaviours align with the values of the NHS Constitution. It is delivered through pre-screening, values-based interviews, scenario responses and assessment centres — and your supporting information is one of the first places those values are assessed.
Are the six NHS values the same as the 6Cs?
No. The 6Cs are Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment — a related framework linked to the Constitution values but not identical. Values-based recruitment is built on the six NHS Constitution values. Lead with those unless a specific advert references the 6Cs.
How do I show NHS values in my supporting statement?
Demonstrate them through behaviour inside STAR examples rather than naming them. Describe a specific situation where your action reflected the value and landed on a result. Naming a value alone does not score; a behaviour a reader can point to does.
Do all NHS jobs use values-based recruitment?
Values-based recruitment is an NHS-wide approach, and the NHS Constitution values apply across NHS organisations. The exact methods vary by employer and role — some use scenario tests or values-based interviews — but evidencing the values in your written application is good practice for any NHS post.
Can Cvedo tell me if I've evidenced the NHS values?
Yes. Cvedo's checker maps your statement against the six NHS Constitution values and flags which are evidenced through behaviour, which are only named, and which are missing — and your paid report is reviewed by a real person before release. It won't invent evidence; it tells you honestly where the gaps are.
Where do the NHS values come from officially?
They are set out in the NHS Constitution and published on Health Careers (the NHS careers service) and by NHS Employers, who run the national values-based recruitment programme. We cite those sources directly so you can verify the wording.