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.

Waiting Time: 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.

Access: You will have access to a doctor rapidly in case of emergency. We will arrange a home visit as appropriate for those who are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.

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.

Test Results: If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, we will inform you of the results at your next appointment. If no further appointment needs to be arranged, we will advise you when and how to obtain the results.

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.

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 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.

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.

Violent Patients

Our practice will not tolerate any violent, abusive or threatening behaviour. If this should happen the patient will be removed from our list and South Warwickshire Primary Care Trust will be notified and will make arrangements for that patient to be seen at another practice.

The Protection And Use of Patient Information

We ask you for information about yourself so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again.

We may use some of the information for other reasons, for example, to help us protect the health of the public generally and to see that the NHS runs efficiently, plans for the future, trains its staff, pays its bills and can account for its actions.

Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, for example, to notify a birth. The NHS Central Register for England and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a general practitioner. This register does not contain clinical information.

You have the right of access to your health records.

EVERYONE WORKING FOR THE NHS HAS A LEGAL DUTY TO KEEP INFORMATION ABOUT YOU CONFIDENTIAL.

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 if people have a genuine need for it in your and everyone’s interest.

Whenever we can we shall remove details that identify you. The law strictly controls the sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information.

Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

The Main Reasons For Which Your Information May Be Needed:

Giving you health care and treatment.
Looking after the health of the general public.
Managing and planning the NHS, for example by:

• To see your local pharmacist about self medication.

• To make an emergency appointment to see your own doctor as soon as the surgery is open again.

• To make an appointment at the out-of-hours emergency service because you need to be seen quickly. The appointment should mean that you do not have to wait to see a doctor or nurse and they will be expecting you.

• To make an appointment for one of our specialists from palliative care or mental health to visit you at home.

• To have a home visit from an emergency care practitioner.

Comments and Suggestions

We are always happy to accept and consider comments and suggestions from our patients. Please click here to make a comment or suggestion alternatively you may present your views in writing at reception.

Complaints Procedure

We offer a practice complaints procedure to deal with any complaints about the services we provide. A copy of the complaints procedure is available on request. Our practice manager will aim to deal with your concerns within two working days. Our aim is always to provide you with the highest possible standard of care and we always endeavour to respond promptly to any areas of concern.

Freedom Of Information - Publication Scheme

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how the decisions are made. This information is available on the South Warwickshire Primary Care Trust website www.swarkpct.nhs.uk/foi