The Marshes

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PATIENTS
Our responsibility to you

1. A caring, professional attitude from all the healthcare professionals and staff in the practice.
   
2. You will be treated as an individual and partner in your healthcare. No treatment will be given without your informed consent.
   
3. Information concerning patients will be treated in strictest confidence by all staff.
   
4. You will have to wait no longer than 24 hours to see a healthcare professional or 48 hours to see a GP.
   
5. You should normally expect to be seen within 20 minutes of your appointment time or an explanation will be forthcoming to explain the delay.
   
6. You will be kept informed of the services offered by the practice through this website, the twice yearly newsletters and the practice booklet.
   
7. An annual survey will be conducted to ascertain the level of patient satisfaction with the services provided by the practice.

Your responsibility to us

1. Help us to help you - 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.
   
2. Let us know if you change your name, address, telephone number or e-mail address.
   
3. Cancel any unwanted appointment in good time so it can be given to another patient.
   
4. Try and arrive on time for your appointment. If you are late we cannot guarantee to see you.
   
5. Avoid phoning for non-urgent matters during the morning peak time.
   
6. We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with the same courtesy and respect that you would expect to receive yourself.
   
7. Please be patient if your appointment is delayed. Delays are often caused by patients needing emergency attention.
   
8. Refrain from using mobile phones in the surgery. The entrance lobby is acceptable for this.
   
9. Whilst privacy is respected at all times the reception staff may need to ask you for information to enable us to offer you the most appropriate care.

SUGGESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS

We are pleased to accept any comments and suggestions you may have. We operate a practice-based complaints system which meets national criteria.

HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT

The easiest way to complain is to raise your concerns at the time with the person involved. If you feel you cannot do this and you wish to take up the matter with someone else at a later date, please let us know as soon as you can, but certainly:
• Within one year of the incident about which you are complaining
• Within one year of discovering the problem.

To Whom Should I Complain?

Complaints should be addressed to the practice manager. She will ensure your concerns are dealt with fairly and speedily. Please give all the relevant details as clearly as possible.

What We Will Do

We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days. We will try to offer you an explanation of your complaint within 25 working days or a meeting with those involved. We aim to:
• find out what caused your concerns and why
• make it possible for you to discuss your concerns with those involved
• give you an apology where appropriate
• take remedial action, where appropriate, to prevent any repeat of the cause of the complaint
• use your complaint to improve our services.

Complaints On Behalf Of Others

Due to strict patient confidentiality rules, if you wish to make a complaint on behalf of someone else (even a close relative) we will require a letter signed by that person giving us permission to speak to you (unless they are incapable of doing so).

ACCESS TO PATIENT INFORMATION

We store all our patients’ medical records on our practice computer system. The NHS is committed to developing electronic patient records (EPRs) so health information can be shared between the clinicians responsible for your care.

We are responsible for the accuracy and safe-keeping of your medical record. You can help us to keep it accurate by informing us of any change to your name, address or telephone number and by ensuring that we have full details of your medical history. We protect your EPR from accidental loss or damage by taking daily back-ups of our entire database.

If you change practice we will send back your medical record to NHSERY, to be forwarded on to your new GP. However, entries into your EPR made whilst you were registered with us will remain in our computer archives.

You have the right to keep your personal health information confidential between you and your doctor. This applies to everyone over the age of 16 years and in certain cases to those under 16 years. The law does impose a few exceptions to this rule but apart from these, mentioned below, you have a right to know who has access to your medical record.

We have to respect a balance between your privacy and good practice. We will normally share information with other health professionals involved in your health care unless you ask us not to do so. These people work for a variety of organisations such as NHS Trusts, Primary Care Trusts, social services or private hospitals. Our nursing team have access to medical records. They are governed by the same professional codes of confidentiality as the GPs and will not disclose health information without your consent.

Administration staff also deal with medical records. They notify NHSERY of registration details, scan hospital letters and input data into EPRs and file information which cannot be scanned into manual records.

When Do We Disclose Information?

We are required by law to notify the government of various diseases, for public health reasons. Law courts can also require that GPs disclose information to them (non-cooperation on the part of GPs can be severely punished).

A patient’s written consent is always required before any information is given to solicitors or life assurance companies. When completing an insurance report a GP must disclose all relevant medical conditions. You can ask to see the report before it is sent back to the company but if you instruct us not to make a full disclosure we have to inform the insurance company of your instructions. Limited information is shared with NHSERY to organise national breast and cervical screening programmes.

Local authority and government agencies such as social services or the Benefits Agency may require medical reports. These do not have to include your written consent but we will assume that you wish us to complete these reports in your best interests. Failure to co-operate with these agencies can lead to loss of benefits or other support.

We are required by law to allow you access to your computer and written medical records. Requests need to be made in writing and we are allowed to charge a fee to cover our administration and any photocopying.

We have a duty to keep your medical records up to date. A patient is allowed to correct any errors of fact that may have crept into their medical records over the years.

To protect your privacy and confidentiality, we will not normally disclose any medical information over the telephone unless we are sure we are talking to you. This means that we will not disclose information to family, friends or colleagues about any medical matters unless we know we have your agreement to do so.