- Patients have a right to be greeted in a welcoming manner in all circumstances
- Patients have a right to confidentiality
- Patients should be seen the same day for urgent conditions
- Patients should be able to contact a doctor in the case of an emergency at any time of day or night by phoning the surgery, calls will be directed to NHS 111
- Patients should be able to obtain a repeat prescription within 96 hours of ordering one
- Patients should be able to make comments and suggestions by talking to the practice manager
- Patients should be able to make a complaint by writing to the senior partner or the practice manager. Complaints leaflet (PDF)
- Patients should be seen within 20 minutes of their appointment time. Where there is likely to be a delay, patients have the right to be informed
- Patients have the right to be treated with courtesy by GPs, employees and other providers of health services, both inside and outside the practice
Patients have the right to information about their own health particularly
- any illness and its treatment
- any possible side effects of treatment
- likelihood of recovery
- how to prevent or avoid the illness recurring
The practice will offer advice and seek to inform patients of
- Steps they can take to promote good health, and avoid illness
- Advice on self-help that can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in the case of minor ailments
With these rights come responsibilities and for patients this means
- Where an appointment has been made, a patient is responsible for keeping it or giving adequate notice to the practice that they wish to cancel
- A doctor’s time is limited and he or she has many patients to see. It is a patient’s responsibility not to delay the doctor unnecessarily and be aware of other patients need to consult
- Remembering that an appointment is for one person only can reduce delays. When another member of the family needs to be seen, even if it is regarding childhood ailments or if their symptoms are the same, another appointment needs to be made
- A doctor can see many more patients in surgery than when out visiting, please do not request home visits unless the illness prevents attendance at the surgery
- As the receptionists should treat patients with respect so the patients should do the same. The surgery employs a zero tolerance to any form of verbal or physical abuse
Our commitment to you
Maintain confidentiality within the practice Team. Identifiable patient information will only be shared within the practice team and, in the case of referral, to the clinician to whom the patient is referred. Disclosure of identifiable patient information to any other outside agencies will only be done after receiving written permission from the patient.