Tamar Medical Centre Patients Charter

Overall Aim

To continue to provide the highest quality health care service to meet the ever changing needs of our patients.

Accessibility

We will ensure that the surgeries are clean, comfortable and readily accessible and maintained in line with current modern practice.

We will offer a range of flexible appointment times to suit your needs and continue to provide a system for you requesting a same day appointment or home visit.

Waiting times at the reception desk will be kept to a minimum and, on arrival at the surgery; you will be informed of any expected delays to your appointment.

We will continue to use a mobile telephone, which allows the doctor on-call to be contacted urgently in case of emergencies. This will not require a patient or relative to make more than two telephone calls.

You will be able to consult any other member of the practice team, for example community nurse, practice nurse or health visitor for advice about any health problem or health promotion.

Information and Assistance

The practice staff will try at all times to be courteous when dealing with you.

A patient’s privacy will be respected. Though our receptionists have been trained to ask specific questions when dealing with an appointment request.

A doctor will be available to give telephone advice each working day, by arrangement with reception staff.

An area will be set aside for confidential conversations between yourself and reception staff.

Patient records will at all times be secure and confidential.

We will provide an up to date and informative practice leaflet.

We will arrange for you to obtain repeat prescriptions when needed and any requests will be dealt with as quickly as possible. We reserve the right however, not to issue a repeat prescription if we feel that it is not needed. Special arrangements will be made if the repeat prescription is required urgently.

Health Promotion

We are committed to a policy of promoting good health and preventing disease. There will be no smoking allowed anywhere in the surgery buildings in order to ensure a smoke free environment.

Smoking cessation clinics are available.

All children, whose parents have given consent, will be fully immunised.

We will provide a range of health education leaflets and give advice wherever possible to facilitate health and well being.

Understanding and Communication

All members of the practice PHCT (Primary Health care Team) are appropriately trained in communication skills.

Any referrals to other agencies eg, hospital consultants, social services etc will be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Normally, any referral letter will be sent within five working days.

A clear procedure has been adopted for recording the results of referrals or tests and passing this information to the patient.

The GPs and staff are keen to encourage suggestions from patients which lead to improvements in the ability to provide high quality primary care.

The practice operates a Complaint Procedure to ensure that any complaints received are dealt with effectively. Tamar Medical Centre Complaint Procedure.

Information given in confidence to a doctor may have to be shared with other doctors or helping agencies, if it is in the best interest of the patient. Where this occurs, the information will be strictly controlled and only released on a need to know basis.

You should value your health and seek to maintain a healthy lifestyle and minimise health risks.

You should value the members of the practice team as professional advisers.

You should extend the same courtesy and politeness to the practice team as you would expect to receive. We will not accept violence, racial, sexual or verbal harassment and follow the NHS Zero Tolerance guidelines.

You should request your repeat prescription at least 2 working days in advance to avoid unnecessary delay in treatment.

Requests for help or advice for non-urgent conditions should be made during normal surgery hours or by arrangement with the reception staff.

While privacy will be respected by the staff, you should indicate whether you wish an appointment for a routine complaint or for a special reason. This helps to give an appropriate length of time for your appointment. If you feel that you may need a long appointment, please tell the receptionist.

You should regard home visits as a service for the genuinely housebound and more seriously ill. They are time consuming and their misuse can disadvantage those in genuine need. If you feel that a home visit is necessary, please make your request before 10 am if possible.

Advice and suggestions for treatment should be valued and respected, although you have the right to reject any advice.

You should make every attempt to keep your appointments and where you cannot do this, you should contact the practice as soon as possible.

The most common reason for removing a patient from our practice list is that the patient has moved outside the practice area and the doctor is no longer able to fulfil the obligation to visit if required.

Other justifiable reasons to remove a patient include violence, theft or other unreasonable behaviour. These are very rare and exceptional circumstances and only ever used only as a last resort. We will always try to work with our patients to resolve any problems and issue a warning if there is a possibility that they may be removed. We will always try to give a reason for removing a patient

We will never remove patients from our list because of:

• Making a complaint or raising a concern
• Costly treatment
• Suffering from any particular clinical condition or disability

Their race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance

A copy of the policy is available on request from the Practice Manager