Practice Charter

Standards Of Care

The practice is devoted to achieving and maintaining a quality health service to meet your requirements.

GPs' Responsibilities

You will be treated as an individual and will be given courtesy and respect at all times. You have the right to be treated confidentially.

Respect for religious and cultural beliefs will be honoured.

Normally we will answer the telephone promptly and courteously.

You have a right to information about your own health (illness and treatment, possible side effects, prevention of recurring illness etc). We will offer medical advice and information for promotion of good health. You have the right to see your own medical records subject to the limitations of the law. A charge may be made.

Home visits will be made when requested and if a doctor feels that you are not well enough to attend the surgery. The final decision rests with the doctor.

We may give you test results when you telephone the surgery for them, or you may be asked to make an appointment with the doctor or nurse to discuss them.

On registering as a new patient you will be offered a health check with the nurse.

If your doctor believes that you need a second opinion then they will arrange this.

You will be given a time to see the doctor in accordance with the system used in this practice. If there is a substantial delay for any reason, you will be given an explanation.

Repeat prescriptions will normally be ready within 48 hours from the surgery for collection from a local pharmacy following your written request arriving at the surgery.

Routine referral letters for hospital appointments will normally be dispatched within three working days of the referral being agreed with the doctor. When an appointment or acknowledgement of routine referral for a hospital appointment is not received within four weeks please ring Dr Winayak's secretary who will contact the hospital concerned. Urgent referrals for hospital appointments may be faxed, telephoned or provided as a handwritten note for the patient to take to the hospital if the patient is to be seen as an emergency.

If you are 75 years or older, you will normally be offered an annual health check.

Patients’ Responsibilities

We ask that you treat our doctor and all practice staff with courtesy and respect.

The first hour of the morning can be extremely busy. Please keep telephone calls brief. If possible, leave routine calls until later in the day.

You are responsible for your own health and that of your children. Please take the advice given to you at the practice.

Let us know immediately if you change your name or address and remember to give your home or work telephone number and postcode.

You are expected to attend appointments as arranged. If you are unable to attend, please contact the surgery at least 24 hours before the appointment so that your appointment can be offered to another patient.

Please contact the surgery between 8.00 and 10.00am for a home visit during the day.

Please ask for a night visit only if it is truly necessary.

If tests are ordered for you, please ask your doctor or a member of staff about receiving the results.

Please read the rest of the information on this website to get the best out of the services available.

Please check our patient information booklet for the procedure for getting repeat prescriptions.

Where an appointment or acknowledgement of a routine referral for a hospital appointment is not received within four weeks, contact Dr Winayak's secretary.

If you have private medical insurance please inform the doctor at the time the referral is made. There is a different procedure for private referrals.

Suggestions Or Complaints

We are very happy to receive constructive comments and suggestions for improving our service to patients. Similarly, if you have a complaint, we will deal with it in a constructive way. Please write or speak to our practice manger or Dr Winayak’s PA. The practice has a robust in-house complaints procedure.

Patient Participation Group

For some years now, the practice has had a patient participation group which provides views of patients and enables the practice to obtain feedback from the practice population.

Confidentiality

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the practice team.

Prescriptions and some of the consultation records are run solely on computer. This enables us to analyse various aspects of health care and to produce an annual practice report.