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Practice
Charter
All
members of the North Parade Medical Centre Practice Team are dedicated
to a quality service, in order to achieve health services which meet our
patients' needs.
Patients'
Rights To General Medical Services
As
A Patient You Have The Right To:
• Be registered
with a general practitioner.
• Express a preference of practitioner
on registering. The practice will endeavour to comply with this right,
though it might not always be possible, in which case an explanation will
be offered.
• Change doctor if desired, quickly and easily.
•
Be offered a health check on joining the practice for the first time.
If you are aged over 75 you are entitled to an annual review if you have
not had a consultation within one year. All other patients over 16 and
under 75 are entitled to a three-yearly review if they have not had a
consultation during the preceding three years.
• Receive
emergency care from the practice during the hours of 8.30am - 6.00pm.
•
Receive emergency care from the South and East Out-of-Hours Service between
the hours of 6.00pm to 8.30am. Telephone 9079 6220.
• Receive
appropriate medication.
• Be referred to a consultant acceptable
to you if clinically appropriate and be referred for a second opinion
if you and your doctor agree.
• Have access to your health
records subject to current legislation and to know that staff working
for both this practice and the NHS are under a legal obligation to keep
their contents confidential.
• Have all relevant medical
procedures adequately explained.
• See on request any medical
reports made for insurance or employment purposes.
• Choose
whether or not to take part in medical research or medical student training.
•
Be kept informed about services available by means of the practice booklet,
website, electronic notice boards and other leaflets.
Our
Responsibilities To The Patient
Surgery
Staff
We will be courteous, helpful and act in a professional
manner at all times. Patients will be treated as individuals and partners
in their healthcare irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious or
cultural beliefs. All staff will wear name badges or be clearly identified
to you to ensure you are aware at all times who you are dealing with at
the surgery.
Surgery Premises
Our surgery
building will be welcoming, safe and easy for patients to find their way
around and appropriate to the needs of the users, including the disabled.
Privacy
And Confidentiality
We will respect our patients' privacy
and confidentiality at all times. Confidentially is of paramount importance
within the practice. All information about patients is confidential.
Practice
Booklet
All new patients will receive a copy of our practice
booklet and copies will be available at the reception desk.
Waiting
Times
• We will endeavour to answer telephone calls in a
timely fashion, but would point out that North Parade has over 7,000 patients,
and at times of high demand patients may have to wait to get a line into
the surgery.
• Surgeries will normally start on time.
•
Patients will usually be seen within a reasonable time of their appointment.
•
Where there is likely to be an unduly long delay, we will inform the patient
and offer an explanation.
• When a doctor is called away
on an emergency we will inform the patients and give them an opportunity
to book an alternative appointment or, if preferred, to be seen by another
doctor.
Changes To Procedures
When changes
are introduced to practice procedures or services that affect patients,
we will endeavour to make sure that these are clearly explained, by means
of waiting room notice boards or individual leaflets.
Treatment
And Care
Following discussion with the patient, the most
appropriate treatment and care will be given by suitably qualified individuals.
No care or treatment will be given without informed consent.
Referrals
Urgent
referrals to other health and social care agencies will be made within
one working day of the patient's consultation. Non-urgent referrals will
normally be processed within one week of the patient consultation or the
doctor's decision to refer.
Accessing Medical Records
Patients
have the right to see their medical records, subject to the relevant legislation.
The practice manager will assist any patient wishing to have access to
their own medical records and a fee may be payable in certain circumstances.
Records are kept confidential and not released to anyone without the patient's
written consent.
Zero Tolerance
The practice
strongly supports the NHS policy on zero tolerance. Any patient 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.
Chaperone Policy
If
you would like a chaperone present during an examination or consultation,
please arrange this with the doctor.
The care that we can provide depends
on the partnership between patients and their doctor. Whilst we will always
strive to meet the demands placed on us, there are things that the patient
can do that will make our job easier:
Patient
Responsibilities
• Treat practice staff with
courtesy and respect at all times.
• Keep phone calls to
the practice as brief as possible to free up phone lines, staff and GPs
for other patients.
• Attend appointments on time or give
the practice adequate notice of cancellation.
Someone else could use
that appointment!
• If a doctor is running late we ask that
patients are understanding as consultations will
sometimes run over
time.
• An appointment is for one person
only - where another member of the family needs to be seen or discussed,
another appointment should be made.
• Telephone the surgery
as advised to obtain results for tests.
• Patients should
make every effort when consulting the surgery to make best use of nursing
and medical time - home visits should be medically justifiable and not
requested for social convenience.
• When patients are asked
to give 48 hours' notice (two working days) for repeat prescriptions,
please give us this time, as it is to allow for accurate prescribing.
If repeat prescriptions are required to be delivered to a pharmacy then
72 hours should be allowed to ensure the pharmacist has time to make the
collection.
• Out-of-hours calls (eg evenings, nights and
weekends) should only be requested if they are felt to be truly necessary.
•
Patients are requested to keep us informed about changes to personal circumstances
and, in particular, any change of phone numbers or address.
•
Accept responsibility for your health by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Value and respect advice. In the interest of your care and treatment it
is important that you understand all the information given to you.
Suggestions
Or Complaints
We
always try to provide the best possible service but there may be times
when you feel that this has not happened. If you have any suggestions
on how we could improve our services, or are unhappy about any aspect
of our services, please let us know. A suggestion box is available at
reception or you can phone or write to our practice manager.
If
you wish to make a complaint you can speak directly to our practice manager
or any of the staff who will pass on your concerns to the doctor. Alternatively,
you can put your complaint in writing, or make an appointment with one
of the doctors to discuss your complaint. 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 investigate and, if necessary, correct
any problems that you have identified. If you use this facility it will
not affect your right to complain to the Eastern Health and Social Services
Board. 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. Full details of our practice complaints
procedure are available from our practice manager.
Confidentiality
We
ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care
and treatment. This information is recorded onto the computer and we are
registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. The practice has strict
procedures in place to 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. The
practice follows a strict protocol for information sharing with other
health professionals.
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