Practice Charter

PRACTICE CHARTER

The GPs and staff at Leek Health Centre believe in treating their patients with consideration, dignity and respect.

Where possible we will do our best to ensure that:

• Confidential and personal matters are dealt with in privacy;
• You are consulted and participate in decision making relating to your care or treatment;
• You understand the care or treatment choices that are available to you, including the risks and benefits involved.
• We listen to your views, or those acting on your behalf, and where reasonably practical, accommodate those views;
• Where possible you will be provided with opportunities to manage your own care or treatment;
• You receive appropriate care with due regard to your age, sex, religious persuasion, sexual orientation, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background and/or disability.

Our services to you:
• You can make appointments in person or over the telephone up to 2 weeks in advance.
• We aim to answer the telephone within six rings during Surgery hours.
• If you have an urgent medical problem, you will be seen on the day by the Nurse Practitioner.
• Patients with urgent medical problems may need to be given priority, this may sometimes cause a delay to those with booked appointments.
• If you feel too ill to attend Surgery or are housebound, please call the Practice before 11am and a clinician will decide if a home visit is appropriate.
• Blood test results take time to reach us. Please allow 5 working days and contact the Practice after 2pm.
• Repeat prescriptions will normally be available within two working days (excluding Saturdays and Sundays).
• Patients will be referred to an appropriate specialist, acceptable to them, when their GP feels that it is clinically necessary.
• We offer an Electronic Prescription Service. This allows you to nominate a pharmacy and you do not have to visit the Surgery to pick up your prescription.
• We participate in clinical research and training. You are not obliged to take part.
• If you have any complaints or concerns about the service we offer you are entitled to ask for an explanation.
• All complaints are dealt with initially at Practice level. To register a complaint please ask to speak to the Deputy Manager or fill out a complaints form available at reception. If your complaint cannot be satisfactorily resolved in-house we will refer you to PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service).
• We are open to suggestions on how we could improve our services. We have a suggestion box for you to use, alternatively you could join our Patient Participation Group (PPG).

PATIENTS RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

You have the right to:
• be treated with dignity and respect.
• receive clear understandable information about your treatment and care.
• ask questions if you are unsure.
• know the name of the person treating you and their professional capacity.
• be kept informed of waiting times, delays and cancellations.
• be accompanied by a friend/relative during consultation or examination.
• request the presence of a chaperone during intimate examinations. If you know in advance that a chaperone will be required, please ask when booking your appointment.
• Decide whether or not to accept treatment. If a patient does not have the mental capacity to give consent for treatment, the personal legally responsible for them will be asked to provide consent, unless the healthcare professional considers the treatment to be in the patient’s best interest.
• privacy and confidentiality – your records will be kept safe and secure.
• know what is being written about you at the time it is being written.
• have access to your health records.

In return, we ask that you:
• treat the staff, other patients, visitors and the building with respect.
• provide accurate information about your health, condition and status.
• confirm that you understand the treatment being provided and course of action.
• follow treatment plans recommended. You will be responsible for the consequences of refusing treatment or not following professional advice.
• are considerate to other patients.
• inform Practice staff of any changes in your circumstances, e.g. change of surname, address or telephone number. Please ensure that we have your correct telephone number, even if it is ex-directory.
• notify the Practice if you cannot keep an appointment.
• consider participating in education, training and research.
• participate in important public health programmes such as vaccination.
• ensure that those closest to know of your wishes about organ donation.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All staff, whether employed by the Practice or an NHS related employer are bound by the NHS rules of Confidentiality and the Data Protection Act 1998 in relation to the handling of patients’ personal medical records. Although you will usually only want to discuss medical problems with your doctor or the nurse, it will often be helpful for you to give a certain amount of information to reception staff. If you wish to speak to any member of staff in private, there will usually be a room available to allow this.

Due to Confidentiality and Data Protection we are unable to disclose patient information to a third party, i.e. friend, relative, pharmacy, solicitor, etc, without prior consent from the patient. Patients wishing to give consent will need to complete a consent form before any of their information can be disclosed. Consent forms can be obtained from the Reception. If a patient wishes to cancel consent, notification must be given in writing so that their record can be updated accordingly.

ACCESS TO PATIENT INFORMATION

Only GPs and staff employed or attached to the Practice have access to patient medical records.

You are entitled to view your medical records. Contact the surgery to request a copy of your medical records or request access online via NHS App or Patient Access (link to Patient Access on website home page). Such requests can take up to 28 days to be approved.

If we are requested by a company (for example, a solicitor) to provide information regarding a patient’s medical records, consent will be sought from the patient.

(All our staff are bound by confidentiality and the Data Protection Act 1998 relating to a patient’s personal medical records).

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – PUBLICATION SCHEME

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the Practice to provide corporate information through 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.

STAFF PROTECTION

A ZERO tolerance policy is now in place throughout the National Health Service. Staff in this Practice have the right to carry out their work in an environment free from violent, threatening and abusive behaviour and everything possible will be done to protect that right.

At no time will any of the following be tolerated by this Practice:

• Violence or aggression of any kind
• Verbal harassment
• Recurrent loud or intrusive conversation or shouting
• Threatening or abusive language involving swearing or offensive remarks
• Derogatory racial or sexual remarks
• Malicious allegations relating to members of staff, other patients or visitors

This list is not exhaustive and will be reviewed regularly.

At no time will any of these types of behaviour be tolerated in this Practice. If you do not respect the rights of our staff we may make arrangements for you to be removed from our medical list and we may also involve the police.

Please treat all Practice staff, fellow patients, carers and visitors politely and with respect. Our staff are here to help you, not to be abused.

REMOVAL FROM THE PRACTICE LIST

Patients will be warned (in writing) that they are at risk of removal, together with an explanation of the reasons for this.

No warning is required if:
• The removal is on the grounds of change of address which is outside the Practice boundary
• The Practice has reasonable grounds for believing that the issue of such a warning would be harmful to the physical or mental health of the patient
• The Practice has reasonable grounds for believing that the issue of such a warning would put at risk the safety of members of the Practice or those entitled to be on the Practice premises.

Once registered for Patient Access please allow 2 working days for your account to be activated.