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Practice
Charter
GPs
AND PRACTICE STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES
You will be treated as an individual and will be given courtesy and respect at
all times. You have the right to be treated confidentially.
Respect for religious and cultural beliefs will be honoured.
Normally we will answer the telephone promptly and courteously.
You have a right to information about your own health (illness and treatment,
possible side effects, prevention or recurring illness etc). We will offer medical
advice and information for promotion of good health. You have the right to see
your own medical records subject to the limitations of the law. A charge may
be made.
Home visits will be made when requested and if a doctor feels that you are not
well enough to attend the surgery. The final decision rests with the doctor.
We may give you test results when you telephone the surgery for them, or you
may be asked to make an appointment with the doctor to discuss them.
On registering as a new patient, you will be offered a health check with a GP.
If your doctor believes that you need a second opinion, then they will arrange
this.
You will be given a time to see a doctor in accordance with the system used in
this practice. If there is a substantial delay for any reason, you will be given
an explanation.(Sometimes this is beyond our control. We apologise in advance
for this.)
Repeat prescriptions will normally be ready within 24 hours from the surgery,
or 48 hours collection from a local pharmacy following your written request
arriving at the surgery.
Routine referral letters for hospital appointments will normally be dispatched
within three working days of the referral being agreed with the doctor. Urgent
referrals for hospital appointments may be faxed, telephoned or provided as a
handwritten note for the patient to take to the hospital.
PATIENTS' RESPONSIBILITIES
We ask that you treat our doctors and all practice staff with courtesy and respect.
The first hour of the morning can be extremely busy. Please keep telephone calls
brief. If possible, leave routine calls till later in the day.
Let us know immediately if you change your address or name and remember to give
your phone and contact number and postcode.
Please speak to a member of the practice staff if you wish to see your medical
records. This can then be arranged with your doctor. There may be a fee payable.
Please contact the surgery between 8.00 and 10.30am for a home visit during the
day.
If tests are ordered for you, please ask your doctor or a member of staff about
receiving the results.
Please read the rest of practice booklet to get the best out of the services
available.
You can discuss any medical matter with the doctor, including asking for a second
opinion.
Please let us know promptly if you are unable to keep an appointment. We can
then offer this appointment to someone else.
Please check our patient information booklet for the procedure for getting repeat
prescriptions.
Where an appointment or acknowledgement of a routine referral for a hospital
appointment is not received within six weeks, contact the medical secretary at
the surgery.
Complaints
And Compliments
We are very happy to receive compliments, constructive comments and suggestions
for improving our service to patients. Please write or speak directly to our
practice manager/deputy.
Our aim is to provide you with comprehensive general medical care of high quality,
but there may be times when you feel that this has not happened. We have a practice
complaints procedure.
We hope you will use it to allow us to look into and, if necessary, correct any
problems you have identified (or mistakes that have been made). If you use this
procedure it will not affect your right to complain to the Buckinghamshire PCT.
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 the practice
manager. Full details will be taken and a decision on how best to undertake the
investigation with your agreement. Our practice procedure is not able to deal with questions of legal liability or compensation.
We believe it is important to deal with complaints swiftly. Occasionally it may
take longer than expected but we will keep you informed throughout. We will try
to address your concern, provide an explanation and discuss any action that may
be needed. If you wish to meet with the practice manager to discuss your complaint this can be arranged.
Staff
Protection
A zero tolerance policy towards violent, threatening and abusive behaviour is
now in place throughout the National Health Service.
At no time will any violent, threatening or abusive behaviour be tolerated in
this practice. If you do not respect the rights of our staff we may choose to
inform the police and make arrangements for you to be removed from our practice
list.
Freedom
Of Information Act Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication
Scheme. We comply fully with this.
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. Prescriptions
and some of the consultation records are run purely on computer. This enables
us to analyse various aspects of health care and to offer better care to our
patients.
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