Your Rights and Responsibilities

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.
Please keep your phone call brief and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters.
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.

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.

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. The surgery should be well signposted and the doctors’ or nurses’ names are indicated on their surgery doors.

Waiting Times

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. You should not wait more than 30 minutes in the waiting room without receiving an explanation for the delay.

Access

You will have access to a doctor rapidly in case of emergency and otherwise within two working days. We will arrange a home visit appropriate for those who are tool 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 or nurse.

Respect

Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religion 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 that 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, and 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 time.