Practice Charter Standards

Our Responsibilities

1. To greet you courteously and maintain absolute confidentiality.
2. To see you at the appointment times as far as possible.
3. To give the treatment and advice we believe is best, giving priority to urgent medical conditions.
4. To arrange via reception staff for you to be able to speak to a doctor for telephone advice.
5. To arrange a home visit for those too ill to attend surgery.
6. To give you access to your medical records subject to any limitations in the law.
7. To have repeat prescriptions available within 48 hours if you give the required notice.
8. To welcome and consider any suggestions you make to improve the service.
9. To offer you a health check with the nurse/doctor when you join the practice.

Your Responsibilities

1. Please give us the courtesy you expect from us.
2. Please give adequate notice if you cannot keep an appointment.
3. Please remember an appointment is for one person only.
4. Most delays are for medical emergencies - please be patient.
5. Only request a home visit if it is medically justifiable and not for social convenience.
6. Requests for a repeat prescription should be made at least 48 hours before it is required using the computer printout request slip.
7. Please think carefully before using the out-of-hours service which is for medical emergencies only.

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. 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.

Complaints Procedure

We endeavour to provide the best service possible, but there may be times when you feel that this has not happened. The practice has an in-house complaints procedure, which enables us to deal with problems quickly.

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 Service 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.

We believe it is important to deal with complaints swiftly, so you will be offered an appointment for a meeting to discuss the details within five days. Occasionally it may take longer, but we will keep you informed throughout. You may bring a friend or relative with you to the meeting. We will try to address your concerns, provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed.

Zero Tolerance

The practice supports the NHS policy of zero tolerance with regard to violence or abuse to the doctors, staff or others on the practice premises or other locations where treatment may take place. Persons abusing this policy may be reported to the police and removed from the practice list.

Freedom Of Information

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.