Practice Charter
Patients’ rights and responsibilities to general medical services
Patient rights
- Be registered with a General Practitioner
- Change doctor if desired
- A health check on joining the practice
- Receive appropriate drugs and medicine
- Be referred to a specialist or for a second opinion if they and their GP agree
- Have the right to view their medical records, subject to the relevant Acts and to know that those working for the NHS are under legal obligation to keep the contents confidential.
Patient responsibilities
The Practice has a policy for removing a patient from the list if they fail to attend 4 or more pre-booked appointments within any 12 month period.
- Patients should attend their appointments at the arranged time. If this is not possible they should inform the surgery so that the appointment can be reallocated.
- Appointments are for one person only. Additional appointments should be made for more than one person.
- Requests for help and advice for non-urgent matters should be made during surgery hours only.
- Many problems can be solved by advice alone therefore patients should not always expect a prescription.
- We ask that patients treat the staff and doctors with courtesy and respect.
- Respond in a positive manner to questions asked by the reception staff.
- Allow the time necessary for accurately processing repeat prescriptions.
- Patients to arrive on time for their appointment, if more than 10 minutes late you will be requested to make another appointment. This will be logged as a ‘failure to attend’ please see above.