PRACTICE CHARTER
Our Responsibility to You
We are committed to giving you the best possible care.
Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their health care, irrespective of their ethnic origin, or religious and cultural beliefs.
The standards set within this practice are 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.
We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the information that directly affects your health and care being offered.
The practice will offer patients advice and information on:
Steps that can be undertaken to promote good health and avoid illness;
Self-help, which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in
the case of minor ailments.
Your Responsibility to Us
Please let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number.
Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us as soon as possible if you cannot.
We need help too. Please ask for home visits by the doctor only when the patient is too ill to visit the surgery.
Please keep your phone call brief and avoid calling at peak times for
non-urgent matters.
We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect.
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.
Suggestions or Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this were so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible. Simply contact the practice manager and she will set all the necessary wheels in motion.
Further written information on the complaints procedure is available from reception.
Students
Medical students and nursing students attend the practice from time to time. We hope that you will co-operate with us and help the students to learn about general practice. However, you will be informed of their presence in advance, and if you do not want them to be present at a consultation, your wishes will be respected. This will not affect your treatment in any way.
Information Sharing
The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
* To provide further medical treatment for you, eg from district nurses and
hospital services
* To help you get other services eg from the social work department. This
requires your consent.
* When we have a duty to others, eg in child protection cases
Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services, eg for diabetic care. If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Access to Doctors/Nurses
In keeping with government guidelines we are working towards an appointment system that allows access to a doctor or nurse within 48 hours. Given our current staffing levels we are not always able to meet this, particularly at times of high demand.
However, we guarantee to see anyone the same day if the patient considers this to be necessary.
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 (Scotland) Act 2002 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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