Practice/Patient
Charter
We believe that the relationship between the practice and its patients is a partnership. The more help you can give us the more help we can give you.
Practice Responsibilities
You will be treated as an individual and afforded courtesy, respect and confidentiality at all times.
You will be offered an appointment for an urgent medical condition on the same day. Routine appointments will, under normal circumstances, be available within a week with the doctor of your choice.
We will try and see you within 30 minutes of your appointment time. An explanation will be offered if we cannot do this.
We will visit you if you are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.
We will provide an out-of-hours emergency service for the times we are not open.
Your suggestions and comments about the services will be listened to and acted upon when appropriate. Any complaints will be dealt with quickly.
Patient Responsibilities
We ask that you treat us and all our practice staff with the same courtesy and respect that you would expect.
Please remember that the doctor you may prefer may not always be available due to other professional commitments.
Please inform us as soon as possible of changes in address and telephone number. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to keep your appointment.
Please try to be seen at the surgery if at all possible.
Please remember that urgent cases will be seen the next day and do not call out of hours except in real emergencies.
Please let us know if you feel that we have not met our responsibilities to you and give us a chance to discuss this with you.
Comments/Complaints/Suggestions For Improvement
We are always interested to hear any comments, complaints or observations you have so that we can act upon them and improve the service we give. We have a comments and suggestion box in the waiting room and we discuss all comments made at our practice meetings.
We hope that any problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, preferably at the time they occurred and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be solved in this way and you wish to make a complaint, then we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. We operate a practice complaints procedure in accordance with NHS procedures and details of this are available from reception.
Your complaint will be confidentially handled by one of the partners in the practice who will promptly and thoroughly investigate it. You will be kept informed at each stage of the procedure. Any complaints made will not influence your future care from us.
Confidentiality and Use of Patient Information
We are aware that we sometimes have to ask you for personal information. This is so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on the computer and sometimes in manual medical records. Its disclosure to other health professional is on a "need to know" basis such as letting a hospital consultant know of previous hospital admissions and medication. Please be assured that confidentiality is part of the training of all members of the practice team and we take your trust in us most seriously.
We are registered under the Data Protection Act and you have the right of access to view your personal medical records. If you would like to do this please speak to or write to one of the doctors or office manger so that we can arrange for this to happen.
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