Patient Charter

Patient's Rights and Responsibilities

As a patient you have the right to:

1. Be registered with a named doctor
2. Change doctor if desired (but please remember that you may have to see any of the doctors if your need is urgent)
3. Receive emergency care
4. Receive appropriate drugs and medicines
5. Be referred for specialist or second opinion if they and GP agrees
6. See your medical records or a copy, subject to certain laws
7. Know that by law, everyone working for the NHS must keep the contents of your medical records private.

With these rights come responsibilities for the public. That means being:

1. Courteous to staff at all times
2. As prompt as possible for all appointments
3. Responsible for cancelling appointments in adequate time.

Wasted Appointments

We are constantly trying to improve what we do for our patients. One of the things we would like to do is reduce the number of missed appointments. Currently, more than 100 appointments are missed each month. Missed appointments increase the wait for routine appointments for other patients. If you have ever had difficulty getting a routine appointment this is part of the reason. Please tell us in good time if you don’t need your appointment – we can then offer it to someone else.

Text Message Reminders

We send out text messages to patients to remind them of their appointments usually 48 hours before the appointment. If you are unable to attend you can reply CANCEL - this cancels the appointment therefore avoiding a wasted appointment and cost to the NHS. Please check with reception that we have your correct mobile telephone number for you to receive this service. This is an additional service and they may not be sent on all occasions, the responsibility for attending appointments or cancelling them still rests with the patient.

Courtesy And Respect

We aim to treat our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way.

Abusive Or Violent Patients

Any patient who is violent or abusive to the doctors, staff or persons present on the practice premises or in the place where treatment is provided may be removed from the practice list.