PRACTICE
CHARTER STANDARDS
These
are the local standards set within this practice 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.
Our
Responsibility To You:
We are committed to giving
you the best possible service.
Names: People involved
in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how
to contact them. The surgery should be well signposted and the doctors'
or nurses' names are indicated on their doors.
Waiting Times:
We run an appointment system in this practice. You will be given a time
at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you. You should
wait no more than 30 minutes in the waiting room without receiving an
explanation for the delay.
Access: You will have access
to a doctor rapidly in case of an emergency. We will arrange a home
visit as appropriate for those who are too ill or infirm to be brought
to the surgery. The patient has the right to express a preference of
a practitioner.
Whilst the practice will endeavour to comply it might not always be possible and if this
were to be the case, an explanation would be offered.
Telephone: We will try to answer the
phone promptly and to ensure that there are sufficient staff available
to do this. You should be able to speak to a doctor by telephone.
Respect: Patients will be treated as individuals and partners
in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious
and cultural beliefs.
Information: We will give you
full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made
to ensure that you receive the information which directly affects your
health and the care being offered.
Health Promotion:
The practice will offer patients advice and information on:
Steps
they can take to promote good health and avoid illness.
Self-help
which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in the case
of minor ailments.
Health
Records: You have the right to see your health records, subject
to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.
Your Responsibility To Us:
Help us to help you.
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.
Otherwise, other patients may have to wait longer.
We need
help too. Please ask for home visits by the doctor only when the person
is too ill to visit the surgery.
Please keep your phone call
brief and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent
matters.
Test results take time to reach us, so please do not
ring before you have been asked to do so. Enquiries about tests ordered
by the hospital should be directed to the hospital, not the practice.
We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy
and respect.
Please read our practice booklet. This will help
you to get the best out of the services we offer. It is important that
you understand the information given to you. Please ask us the questions
if you are unsure of anything.
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.
Please
ask if you wish to see your doctor.
Zero
Tolerance
Verbal and physical abuse of NHS staff
is increasing currently. This will not be tolerated and those patients
identified as having abused our staff may be taken off the practice
list.
COMMENTS
& SUGGESTIONS
The
practice produces a quarterly newsletter and we would welcome any comments,
suggestions or input for consideration for insertion in our newsletter.
COMPLAINTS
PROCEDURE
We always try to provide the best service possible, but there may be
times when you feel this has not happened. The following information
explains our in-house complaints procedure, drawn up to respond to patient's
grievances. Our practice procedure is not able to deal with questions
of legal liability or compensation. We hope you will use it to allow
us to look into and, if necessary, correct any problems you may have
identified, or mistakes that have been made.
If you use this procedure it will not affect your right to complain directly to the Scottish Public
Services Ombudsman after the Local Resolution process has been completed
by the practice. The address is:
The Health Commissioner for Scotland Ground Floor
1 Atholl Place
Edinburgh
EH 8HP
Telephone Number: 0131 0225 7465.
Please note that we have to respect our duty of confidentiality
to patients and a patients 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 our practice manager Mrs Heather Patterson
Full details will be taken and a decision made on how best to undertake
the investigation.
We believe it is important to deal with complaints
swiftly, so you will be offered an appointment for a meeting to discuss
the details within 5 working days. Occasionally it may take longer,
but we will keep you informed throughout. You may bring a friend or
relative with you to the meeting. We will try to address your concerns,
provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed.
CONFIDENTIALITY
We ask for personal information so that you can receive 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 necessary that medical information about you is shared between members
of the team.
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