|
Practice
Charter Standards
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.
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. The surgery should be well signposted and the doctors' or
nurses' names indicated on their surgery rooms.
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. You should not wait
more than 30 minutes in the waiting room without receiving an explanation for
the delay.
Access:
You will have access to a doctor rapidly in case of an emergency; we will arrange
a home visit as appropriate for those who are too ill or infirm to be brought
to the surgery.
Telephone:
We will answer the phone promptly and ensure that there are sufficient staff available
to do this. You should be able to speak to a doctor by telephone.
Respect:
Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective
of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs, sexual orientation or disability.
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
Help Us
To Help You: Let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number.
If you cannot keep an appointment, please inform us as soon as possible. Try to
be patient if you are kept waiting for your appointment as the person before you
may be seriously ill and require extra time with the doctor. Please ask for a
home visit by the doctor only when the person is too ill to visit the surgery.
Please
keep your telephone call brief and avoid calling during the 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 staff with courtesy and respect. We hope that our
Practice booklet will help you to get the best out of the services we offer. It
is important that you understand the information given to you, so 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.
We will make every effort to ensure that your appointment
is with the doctor of your choice. However, where this is not possible on
a given day, alternatives will be offered. There will always be a doctor available
who will have full access to your records.
Comments,
Suggestions
We are happy
to accept and consider comments and suggestions from our patients. Please present
your views in writing at reception.
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 Primary Care Trust. 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 14 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.
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.
Zero Tolerance Policy
In accordance with policy in force throughout the NHS, aggressive, violent and threatening behaviour towards professionals and members of staff will not be tolerated in this Medical Centre.
|
