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Practice
Charter Standards
| THE PRACTICE’S
RESPONSIBILITIES |
THE PATIENT’S
RESPONSIBILITIES |
| You will be treated as a partner
in the treatment you receive. |
Being
a partner means you have responsibilities to the practice team and to the other
patients who need our time.
Please use the system properly - it is to the
benefit of everyone. |
| You will be dealt with as an individual.
All dealings with the practice are confidential. |
You
will be expected to treat the doctors and staff with courtesy and respect. |
For routine matters you will be
able to see the doctor of your choice, or nurse wherever possible.
You
will be offered assistance on the basis of your clinical need.
Priority
will be given depending on the demands at any given time.
Urgent matters
will be dealt with by the first available doctor. |
Familiarise
yourself with the way the practice works.
You may not always need to
see the doctor. We have other staff available to help. Remember that time has
to be given where it is needed most. Don’t abuse the system by taking up
appointments for trivial matters or imply that something is urgent if it is not.
Please consider other patients’ needs. |
Appointments system:
We
will try to keep your appointment time. If there is a significant delay you will
be entitled to an explanation |
Please
keep your appointment. If you cannot, inform us as quickly as possible so that
the appointment is not wasted. All patients would wait less if this principle
was followed.
Appointments are for one person only. If your problem is complex
or you have more than one problem, please make a longer appointment. |
| You will be given priority in an
emergency day or night. |
You
should not use the emergency provisions for non-urgent matters - this diverts
the doctor. One day it may be you or a close relative who needs the doctor urgently.
We can’t be in two places at once! |
Home visits:
You will be
seen at home when the doctor thinks you are too ill or infirm to travel to the
surgery. |
Please
request home visits before 10.00am unless it is an emergency. Only request a home
visit if there is a real need. Do not be offended if you are offered a surgery
appointment as an alternative. You can generally be seen more quickly at the surgery
and more patients can be seen if the doctor does not have to travel.
We
are not obliged to make visits because you have no transport. |
Out
of hours 6.00pm - 8.00am and weekends:
A doctor is on duty 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year for urgent problems |
Each
doctor regularly covers duties of 100 hours per week. The doctor does not get
time off after being on duty throughout the night. Do not call out of hours for
trivial matters. |
We
will try to answer the telephone promptly.
We
will provide a telephone line exclusively for repeat prescription requests.
We will provide a computerised repeat prescription service. |
Please
do not spend too long on the telephone as others may be waiting. Avoid calling
during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters. The telephone line for repeat
prescriptions will only be answered between 1.45 and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Please allow two working days for your request to be processed. |
| If
you have undergone a test you will be informed of how and when to obtain the result. |
Results
take time to reach the practice; please don’t ring before you have been asked.
Enquiries about tests ordered by a hospital should be directed to the hospital. |
| Information
on services is available in this website or by asking a member of our reception
team. |
Please
read the information on this website and keep the site bookmarked for reference in the future. |
SUGGESTIONS
AND COMPLAINTS
We hope that you find the service offered efficient, accessible and relevant to
your needs. If you have any comments to make please feel free to make use of the
suggestion box which is situated in the reception area. In the event that you
feel you wish to make a complaint about the service or treatment you have received,
we have an informal in-house complaints procedure. For minor incidents, speak
to the receptionist or doctor as appropriate. The practice manager is also available
throughout the day should you wish to raise any matters with them. All such incidents
are of course treated as confidential and will only be discussed with the appropriate
people. However, if you feel that your complaint is serious, you can write to
the Health Care Commission, Freepost Nat 18958, Complaints Investigation Team,
Manchester M1 9XZ.
COMPUTERS
The
practice is fully computerised. All information held on the computer is kept in
accordance with the Data Protection Act. This information is also stored on magnetic
tapes, which, for security reasons, are kept off site. The practice is occasionally
requested to become involved in important NHS and ethically approved research.
All data used is confidential and protected under the Data Protection Act.
CONFIDENTIALITY
We realise that sometimes the
reception desk is a little public; therefore, if you wish to discuss something
of a confidential nature please mention it to the receptionist who will make arrangements
for you to see someone privately.
ZERO TOLERANCE
We strongly support the NHS policy on zero tolerance. Anyone attending the surgery who abuses the GPs, staff or other patients be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the practice list. In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the practice premises.
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.
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