Practice Charter

These are the local standards set within this practice for the benefit of our patients. It is our job to give you treatment and advice. Following discussion with you, you will receive the most appropriate care, given by suitably qualified people. No care or treatment will be given without your informed consent. In the interest of your health it is important for you to understand all the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Help Us To Help You

Our Responsibility To You:

We are committed to giving you the best possible service.

Names

People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how to contact them.

Waiting Time

We run an appointment system in this practice. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you.

Telephone

We will try to answer the phone promptly and to ensure that there are sufficient staff available to do this. You should be able to speak to a doctor by telephone.

Test Results

If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, you will need to contact the practice after 11.00 five/ten days after the test has been carried out.

Cervical smear results take up to six weeks and your result will be sent directly to your home.

Respect

Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs. Upon registration, you will be asked to provide your ethnic origin.

Information

We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the information which directly affects your health and the care being offered.

Health Promotion

The practice will offer patients advice and information on: steps they can take to promote good health and avoid illness; self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in the case of minor ailments.

Health Records

You have the right to see your health records, subject to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.

Your Responsibility To Us

Please let us know if you change your name, address, or telephone number.

Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us as soon as possible if you cannot. Otherwise, patients may have to wait longer.
We need help too. Please ask for home visits by the doctor only when the person is too ill to visit the surgery.

Please keep your phone call brief and avoid calling during peak morning time for non-urgent matters.

Test results take time to reach us, so please do not ring before you have been asked to do so. Enquiries about tests ordered by the hospital should be directed to the hospital, not the practice.

We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect.

Rudeness towards reception staff especially, will not be tolerated.

Please read our practice booklet. This will help you to get the best out of the services we offer. It is important that you understand the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Remember, you are responsible for your own health and the health of your children. We will give you our professional help and advice. Please act upon it.

Please ask if you wish to see your doctor.

Confidentiality

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the team.

Comments & Suggestions

We are happy to accept and consider comments and suggestions from our patients. Please present your views in writing at reception or use our suggestion box.

Complaints Procedure

We always try to provide the best services possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. The following information explains our in-house complaints procedure, drawn-up to respond to patient grievances. Our practice procedure is not able to deal with questions of legal liability or compensation. We hope you will use it to allow us to look into and, if necessary, correct any problems that you have identified, or mistakes that have been made. If you use this procedure it will not affect your right to complain to the Health Services Authority. Please note that we have to respect our duty of confidentiality to patients and a patient's consent will be necessary if a complaint is not made by the patient in person. If you wish to make a complaint, please telephone or write to our practice manager. Full details will be taken and a decision made on how best to undertake the investigation.

Freedom Of Information – Publication Scheme

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available. This scheme is available from reception.