Practice Charter

Patients' Rights and Responsibilities

We aim to promote good health and encourage prevention of disease.
We will treat you with courtesy and respect.
We will respect your right to confidentiality. We will maintain appropriate medical records, and respect your right of access to them.
Your doctor will discuss your condition with you and explain the reasons for any investigations, treatment or referral. He will explain the main purpose of any drugs prescribed for you and will tell you about any significant common side effects.
We will review your repeat medication regularly; if you wish to discuss any aspect of this we will be pleased to do so.
Whenever possible we will give you at least 24 hours' notice of any surgery or clinic cancellation.
We offer same day appointments for emergencies and we will try to see you as close to your appointment time as possible. We will always try to offer an explanation if your appointment is significantly delayed.

We aim to treat our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way. It is your responsibility to keep your appointments, inform us of your past illnesses, medication, hospital admissions and any other relevant details.

Confidentiality

All information about you, your family and your medical conditions are treated in absolute confidence by the doctors and staff. Please be aware that results of blood tests, X-rays and other information will only be given to the patient or to the parents/guardians of children.
Some information is held on our computer system in accordance with the Data Protection Act. If you would like more information on how we use your health records please ask at reception.

Comments & Complaints

We welcome your suggestions and comments about any aspect of the service we offer you. Please address any suggestion to our practice manager or leave them in the suggestion box at reception.
If you feel that you need to make a complaint about the service provided to you, please contact the practice manager or practice administrator.

Zero Tolerance

Please treat our staff in a way in which you would like to be treated yourself. We support the NHS policy on zero tolerance of violence and aggression towards staff. Anyone attending the surgery who abuses the GPs, staff or other patients, be it verbally or in a physically threatening manner, will be asked to leave the premises without receiving treatment and will risk removal 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 the practice manager. We also have a patient information leaflet available from reception.

Fees

Some services we provide are not covered by the NHS and for these you will be asked to pay a fee. Examples include employment and private medical, private prescriptions, private sick certificates, private medical insurance claims, holiday cancellation certificates, signing passport forms and administration of holiday vaccinations. Please check with reception when making an appointment.
A list of our fees is on display at reception. If you have any questions about fees, please ask at reception.