Practice Charter

Your Responsibilities

We ask that you treat doctors and staff with due courtesy.

You are responsible for your own and your family's health. Please follow the medical advice offered and take any medication advised. Take steps to promote good health and avoid illness, eg stop smoking, increase exercise, eat sensibly. If you do see a doctor remember you may not need a prescription. Try to treat minor self-limiting illnesses yourself with common sense and advice from your local pharmacist.

If you change your name, address or phone number please let us know.

Don't ask for a home visit unless the patient is physically unable to come to surgery. Most young children running temperatures can quite safely be brought along. Except in emergencies, request home visits before 10.00am.

Please ensure you keep your appointment or cancel it in plenty of time so it can be made available to someone who needs it. Patients who consistently fail to do so may be removed from the practice list.

Try to be punctual; late arrival may cause delays and inconvenience to other patients. Please check in at reception on arrival. If your problem is urgent, or you feel delay may be dangerous, please make this known to the receptionist. Please also make one appointment per patient; don't expect the doctor or nurse to be able to treat your whole family in the time normally allowed for one person.

If your GP has made a routine hospital referral for you and you have not received an appointment or an acknowledgement from the hospital within three weeks, please let us know.

Suggestions, Comments, Complaints

If you have a concern about the service you have received in this practice, or simply want to comment positively or otherwise, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints.

Please ask to see the manager or ask at the reception for a leaflet.

Confidentiality

The practice is registered under the Data Protection Act. All information about our patients is treated as strictly confidential. We will not give you any information about friends or relatives without their permission.

You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit we may need to share some information about you. Information will only be used or passed on if there is a genuine need for it. Whenever we can we shall remove details which identify you.

Your information may be used for: giving you health care and treatment; looking after the health of the general public; managing and planning patient care; helping provide the best healthcare for you; and training and education for the healthcare team.

Usually, with your written consent, your information may be accessed by Social Services, legal agencies and insurance companies. At your doctor's discretion, even without your consent, access can be made available to the Primary Health Care Team, other healthcare organisations and practitioners, the PCT and South Yorkshire Health Services Support Agency.

In Case Of Bereavement

If a death occurs in the family at home, please contact the practice immediately for death to be confirmed. You may also wish to inform a funeral director of your choice, who will be able to help with the practical details.

Everyone reacts differently to bereavement. It is an experience we will all have to cope with at some time in our lives, but it is a severe form of stress. Your doctor will be a willing listener and a source of advice.

Our Commitment to You

You will be treated as an individual and will be afforded the dignity, courtesy and respect you deserve.

You are encouraged to be involved in decision-making and will receive the most appropriate care from the most suitably qualified person. This may not always be the doctor. Treatment will only be given with your informed consent. If the doctor believes that you need a second opinion they will arrange this.

Professionals involved in your care will be identified to you by name.

It is our responsibility to give you treatment and advice, and to determine whether, when and where you should be seen.

We provide an appointment system which aims to ensure that you can see a health professional within 24 hours, and a doctor (not necessarily the doctor you normally see) within 48 hours if appropriate.

We will try to ensure you are seen on time but some consultations take longer than others and we have no way of knowing this in advance. There may be times when someone who is more seriously ill must take priority. If the delay is long we will try to ensure that you are given an explanation. In any event if you have not been called within 30 minutes of your appointment time please enquire at reception.

Staff Protection

The staff in this practice have the right to work in an environment free from violent, threatening or abusive behaviour and everything will be done to protect that right.

A zero tolerance policy is now in place throughout the NHS. At no time will violent, threatening or abusive behaviour be tolerated in this practice. If you do not respect the rights of our staff we may involve the police and will take immediate steps to have you removed from our practice list.

Freedom Of Information – Publication Scheme

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 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.