Practice Charter
1. You will be treated with courtesy and respect by all practice staff.
2. We will make same day urgent appointments available as far as possible within the limitations of our resources.
3. Our standard is to see 80% of patients within 20 minutes of their appointment time. If you wait longer than this, please see the receptionist.
4. We aim to answer the telephone within 6 rings but do have a call queuing system which will tell you where you are in the queue. Please be patient with us and we will answer as soon as possible.
5. All comments and suggestions about the service are welcome. Please use the patient feedback forms.
6. All complaints are taken seriously. If you have a complaint please speak to any member of staff initially (also see “Complaints” below).
7. Requests for repeat prescriptions are usually dealt with within 2 working days. We regret we will not accept telephone requests for repeat prescriptions due to the possibility of errors in communicating the correct information.
Practice “End of Life” Patient Charter
A charter for the care of people who are nearing the end of their life
“You matter because you are you; you matter to the last moment of your life and we will do all we can, not only to let you die peacefully, but to help you live until you die.” Dame Cicely Saunders
We want to offer people who are nearing the end of their life the highest quality of care and support. We wish to help you live as well as you can, for as long as you can. Therefore, if and when you want us to, we will:
· Listen to your wishes about the remainder of your life, including your final days and hours, answer as best we can any questions that you have and provide you with the information that you feel you need;
· Help you think ahead so as to identify the choices that you may face, assist you to record your decisions and do our best to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled, wherever possible, by all those who offer you care and support;
· Talk with you and the people who are important to you about your future needs. We will do this as often as you feel the need, so that you can all understand and prepare for everything that is likely to happen;
· Endeavour to ensure clear written communication of your needs and wishes to those who offer you care and support both within and outside of our surgery hours;
· Do our utmost to ensure that your remaining days and nights are as comfortable as possible, and that you receive all the particular specialist care and emotional and spiritual support that you need;
· Do all we can to help you preserve your independence, dignity and sense of personal control throughout the course of your illness;
· Support the people who are important to you, both as you approach the end of your life and during their bereavement.
We also invite your ideas and suggestions as to how we can improve the care and support that we deliver to you, the people who are important to you and others in similar situations.
For more information from the practice End of Life Care Lead, please contact:
Dr J Smith on 01332 414944
Confidentiality & Medical Records
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 e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. 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 e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practitioners and the practice, required for disclosure under this act, can be made available to the public. This is known as a Publication Scheme. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager. If you want to know more about the ‘Freedom of Information Act 2000’ there are leaflets available at Reception.
Access to Records
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may ask to see their medical records. Such requests should be made to the Practice Manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient’s consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to our patients.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
If you have a complaint please contact the Practice Manager who will be pleased to discuss your concerns. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.
Violence Policy
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.
Equality
The practice embraces the principles of the Equality Act and:
· Values its employees equally
· Will ensure that all employees are treated with dignity and respect
· Will ensure that employees will receive the same contractual pay and benefits as a person of the opposite sex doing the same or broadly similar work
· Will promote equality of opportunity between men and women
· Will offer equal opportunities to all employees regardless of age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief
· Will not tolerate any discrimination against any employee or job applicant for any of the above reasons; any such discrimination will be considered as a disciplinary offence
· Will not tolerate any discrimination against a visitor or patient; any such discrimination will be considered as a disciplinary offence
· Will advertise externally and within the practice all job vacancies; all applications will be welcomed and considered, irrespective of age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief
· Will advertise within the practice suitable opportunities for promotion, transfer and training; all applications will be welcomed and considered, irrespective of age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief
Breastfeeding
The Practice is “baby friendly” and recognises the right of a mother to breastfeed her baby in public areas. For those who prefer a private setting, we have a dedicated room for breastfeeding adjacent to reception.
