Every patient at the practice has a named GP who is responsible for their overall care at the practice. New patients are allocated a named GP when registering with the practice.

Having a named GP does not prevent you from seeing any other doctor in the practice. Please note that your named GP will not necessarily be available at all times, and you may need to see an alternative doctor.  Your medical records are available to every doctor in the practice.

We aim to treat all of our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way. We take seriously any threatening, abusive or violent behaviour against any of our staff or patients. If a patient is violent or abusive, they will be warned to stop their behaviour. If they persist, we may exercise our right to have them removed, immediately if necessary, from our list of patients. It should be noted that in line with NHS guidance the practice operates a Zero tolerance policy toward violence and abuse.

As a patient you have both rights and responsibilities. You have the right to be treated in a polite manner and to be seen by a GP or a Nurse.

As a patient it is your responsibility to:

– Not to abuse staff or other patients verbally or physically.
– Keep the appointments that you have made, or cancel them if you cannot keep them.
– Be on time for your appointment.
– Keep us informed of your current contact details.
– Comply with the treatment plan and medication prescribed to you by your Doctor or Nurse.
– Let us know if you have special needs or need additional assistance.

To provide you with the care you need, we hold details of your consultations, illnesses, tests/results, prescriptions, etc. which have been recorded by everyone involved in your care and treatment. This information may be stored on paper or electronically on computer files.

Sometimes, we have to share some of your personal health information with other healthcare professionals directly involved in your care. For example, when you are referred to the hospital, we send relevant details about you in the referral letter and receive information about you from the hospital.

Limited information is also shared with health authorities to help them organise national programmes for public health such as childhood immunisations, cervical smear tests, and breast and bowel cancer screening.

We are also sometimes required by law to notify the Government of certain infectious diseases (e.g. meningitis, measles (but not AIDS)) for public health reasons.

Please note that reception and administration staff sometimes require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs effectively (e.g. to chase up a referral). These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Further details can be found in our General Practice Privacy Notice.

There is a new central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses (e.g. at hospital A&E departments) help you when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies.

Patient information will be taken from practices such as ours and held on the central SCR NHS databases.

As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information within the practice. Please note that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the central SCR NHS computer system unless you actively opt out. If you wish to opt out, please download and fill out the opt-out form, and return to the reception.

We take complaints very seriously. Our aim is to give you the highest possible standard of service and we try to deal with any problems that may occur thoroughly and to your satisfaction.

The Practice operates a practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints.

If you would like to make a complaint about the practice or our services, please ask to speak to the practice manager, or alternatively, ask at reception for a complaints form.

Our surgery is accessible to patients using a wheelchair. We have a lift for access to the 1st floor for those with difficulties climbing stairs.

For patients with hearing problems, we have a loop system installed.

Interpretation and translation services are available for patients who use sign language (or do not speak English). Please let us know in advance if someone needs this service and we will arrange an interpreter.