Practice Charter

Our Responsibilities to You:

1. All patients will be treated as individuals in a caring and confidential manner by all staff.
2. To be seen by the doctor or health care professional of your choice whenever possible.
3. To be seen the same day if your problem is deemed to be medically urgent.
4. If you have undergone tests, the doctor or nurse will tell you how and when to contact Surgery to check on the result.  The receptionist will tell you the result and/or pass on instructions given by the doctor.
5. To be kept informed on waiting times, delays and cancellations.
6. Your repeat prescriptions will be ready for collection within 48 hours of your request.
7. We will provide you with information about how to make suggestions or complaints about the care we offer.  We strive to improve our services, so we welcome any comments.
8. The doctors and staff work closely together as a team and aim to give you the highest quality of health care.  We aim to meet these standards that we see as our responsibilities to you, and we need your help achieving this.

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Patient Responsibilities:

1. Please let us know your name, address or telephone number.
2. Please do everything you can to keep appointments and arrive on time.  Tell us as soon as possible if you need to cancel an appointment so that it can be given to somebody else.
3. Please ask for a home visit only when the person is too ill to visit the surgery, whenever possible request this before 10:30am.
4. Should you wish to leave a message for your doctor, this can be done through the receptionist.  This saves you and your doctor an appointment.  Please avoid telephoning for non-urgent matters when the lines are busiest before 11:am.
5. Please request a night visit only when you feel it is absolutely necessary.  Remember the doctor who is on call is working in addition to their normal hours.
6. Please re-order routine drugs in good time before your supply runs out, try to re-order as many items as possible at once.  Please tell us if you are requesting drugs not prescribed before or drugs prescribed infrequently as this may result in delays.
7. Hundreds of tests are performed every week. Please accept responsibility to contact us for the result rather than expect us to contact you. Once you have your results and only if the doctor advises should you then make an appointment.  When your tests or investigations are performed at the hospital the results are obtained by contacting the Consultants secretary.  This will avoid unnecessary telephone calls and appointments in surgery.
8. If you still feel you need to see the doctor to discuss details of hospital consultations or tests, please check that your doctor has received the reports before you make an appointment.
9. Remember that you are responsible for your own health so please follow our advice.
10. Please extend the same courtesy and politeness to us as you would expect to receive.
11. Please read our practice leaflet to enable you to get the best out of our services and use the member of the team best able to help you.  If you do not understand the information you have been given, or are unsure of anything, please ask us.