Practice Charter

Help Us To Help You

• Be on time for your appointment.

• Let us know if you need to cancel.

• Call for a home visit or urgent appointment before 10.00am.

• Treat staff with courtesy and respect. Reception staff may have to ask some personal questions to assist us in providing you with the best service.

• Inform the practice staff of any alterations in your circumstances, such as change of surname, address or telephone number. Please ensure we have your correct telephone number, even if it is ex-directory.

Our Responsibility To You

We will give you full information about the services we offer. We will try and answer the phone promptly and to treat you as individuals irrespective of ethnic origin or religious or cultural beliefs. We will offer you advice and information to promote good health and avoid illness.

Confidentiality

We respect your right to privacy and keep all your health information confidential and secure. It is important that the NHS keeps accurate and up-to-date records about your health treatment so that those treating you can give you the best possible care.

The practice complies with the Data Protection and Access To Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

• To provide further medical treatment for you, eg from district nurses and hospital services.
• To help you get other services, eg from the social work department (this requires consent).
• When we have a duty to others, eg in child protection cases.

The practice adheres to strict patient confidentiality in line with the Data Protection Act.

Access To Medical Records

Patients have the right to see their medical records subject to limitations within the law.
If you would like to see your medical records please ask for a copy of our ‘Access to Medical Records Policy’.

Comments & Complaints

We make every effort to give the best possible service to everyone who attends our practice. However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible. Simply contact the practice manager, Mrs Morag McGinley and she will set all the necessary wheels in motion. Further written information is available on the complaints procedure from reception.

We are continually striving to improve our service. Any helpful suggestions would be much appreciated.

Zero Tolerance

The practice considers aggressive behaviour to be any personal, abusive and/or aggressive comments, cursing and/or swearing, physical contact and/or aggressive gestures.

The practice will request the removal of any patient from the practice list who is aggressive or abusive towards a doctor, member of staff or other patient, or who damages property.

All instances of actual abuse on any doctor or member of staff, by a patient or their relatives will be reported to the police as an assault.

Freedom Of Information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available.
This scheme is available from reception.