Practice Charter

Help Us To Help You

Our aim is to offer our patients a fast, efficient and friendly service. However, to enable us to do this we require some help from yourselves.
1. Please do not request home visits unless you are housebound or genuinely too ill to attend the surgery.
2. If you have several problems you wish to discuss with the doctor, please ask for a longer appointment. Hurried consultations are unsatisfactory for both doctor and patient alike.
3. The out-of-hours service is for emergencies and urgent problems which cannot wait until the following day to be seen. Please do not abuse this service.
4. If you are unable to attend an appointment, please cancel as early as possible, as this frees the appointment for someone else.
5. We always welcome suggestions as to any changes we can make to improve patient care and the services we offer. If you have any suggestions, please let us know by putting your ideas in writing to the practice manager.

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 always try to provide the best service 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 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 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 seven 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.

Comments & Suggestions

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

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.