Your Responsibilities
By following a healthy lifestyle and thus minimising health risks, you will be helping not only your doctor but yourself.
- Please try to attend appointments on time. If you have to change or cancel an appointment, tell the practice as soon as you can. Patients who fail to attend appointments on more that one occasion render themselves liable to being removed from our patient list, under written advice.
- Please be patient if your appointment is delayed. We will try to keep delays to a minimum and to keep you informed. Remember delays are often caused by patients needing emergency treatment.
- Please let staff at Reception know if you have any communication needs we can help you with.
- Requests for repeat prescriptions should be made in plenty of time to avoid a last minute panic or even a gap in your treatment.
- Whilst privacy is at all times respected, reception staff may need further details about your condition to help the doctor assess the degree of urgency.
- Be sure to notify us promptly of any change of address or family details such as marriage and don't forget that you need to register your new baby as a patient, using the normal registration form which is available from reception.
- Home visits should be regarded as a service for the genuinely housebound or seriously ill. If in doubt telephone us for advice.
- The job of doctors' receptionists can be stressful. They will do their best to help you at all times, so please try to be patient and courteous in return. We will not tolerate violent, threatening or abusive behaviour towards any of our staff or doctors or towards other patients on our premises. Incidents may be reported to the Police and the perpetrators removed from the practice's patient list without further warning.
Your Rights
As an NHS patient you are entitled to:
- Be greeted in a friendly and courteous manner.
- Receive general medical care from a GP on the basis of clinical need alone.
- Change to another GP Practice if you wish.
- Receive emergency medical care.
- Be treated by an NHS GP if you are away from home anywhere in the UK.
- Be offered a health check with a nurse or GP within six months of registration.
- Request a health check if you are aged between 16 and 75 and have not seen a GP for more than three years.
- Be treated by another GP in the practice if your own doctor is unavailable.
- Be assured of confidentiality in all contacts with the doctors, nurses and staff.
- Have access to your medical records, subject to any limitations in law.
- Be referred to a consultant acceptable to you when your GP thinks it necessary
- Be given a clear explanation of any treatment including the possible risks and alternatives.
- Choose whether or not to take part in medical research or student training.
- Receive invitations for cervical screening if you are a woman aged 20 to 65 years and for breast screening if you are between the ages of 50 and 65.
- Receive advice about health, diet, exercise and smoking as well as alcohol, drug and solvent abuse.
- Have a complaint about any NHS service properly investigated.