Westwood Clinic
Practice Charter
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Our responsibilities to you
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Your responsibilities to us
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You will be treated as an individual in the care and attention you receive and will be given courtesy and respect.
Following discussion you will receive the most appropriate care, and this will be given by suitably qualified people.
No care or treatment will be given without your consent.
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We ask that you treat the doctors, practice staff and their families with the same courtesy and respect.
In return do please try to follow the medical advice offered, and to take any medication as advised. If in doubt, please ask.
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You have the right to see your health record for entries after April 1994, and we shall do our best to keep these confidential.
The Health Authority does have the right to ask us to return your medical records at any time.
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If there is anything you do not want entered in your medical records, please make sure you tell us. If you become aware of any incorrect information, again please do let us know.
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The team of people in the practice involved in your care is quite large - the people looking after you will give you their names and how you can contact them.
It is our job to give you treatment and advice. Normally we do this at the surgery. We provide an appointment system and a walk in surgery as explained in the practice leaflet.
We will try to ensure that you are seen on time but some consultations take longer than others and we have no way of knowing this in advance.
If there is a long delay, an explanation will be given by the receptionist.
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If you change your name, address or telephone number, please let us know straight away.
Please do everything you can to keep appointments, and tell us as soon as possible if you cannot.
Please try to be punctual - if you arrive late it may cause delays and inconvenience other patients.
Please let the receptionist know when you arrive at the surgery. If your problem is an urgent one, please do make that clear to the receptionist.
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It is our responsibility to decide whether, when and where you should be seen. To help us do this, we have trained staff who will need to ask you some straightforward questions.
These are designed to help and not to obstruct.
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Please do not ask for a home visit unless the patient cannot be brought to surgery.
Most young children who are unwell and have a high temperature can quite safely be brought to the surgery.
If you do need a home visit please try to let us know before 10 am.
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We provide cover for emergencies at tall times. Your call may result in:
- Advice, which may include waiting for the next surgery.
- An urgent consultation at the surgery.
- An urgent consultation at an out of hours medical centre.
- A home visit if medically indicated.
- Referral to hospital if necessary.
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Please do not call out of hours, unless about an emergency which cannot wait until the next surgery.
Please remember that your doctors need rest and relaxation just like everyone else.
If you do need to telephone, please have a pen and some paper ready to note details of any advice given.
If you are in doubt, or if there is any change, please telephone us.
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We want to improve our services and thus we welcome any comments or suggestions you have.
We operate a practice based complaints procedure. If you are not happy with any service you have received from us,
please let us know. If you do have a complaint please contact the Practice Manager.
We will do our best to:
- Acknowledge your complaint normally within two working days.
- Investigate it properly and in confidence.
- If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you may wish to contact the complaints manager
at the Greater Peterborough PCT, St Johns, Thorpe Road, Peterborough, PE3 6DG. Tel: 01733 882288
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You have the right at any time to leave our list and to register with another practice.
We also have the right to have our patients removed from our list. In general this is only done when the doctor/patient
relationship has broken down.
We will immediately remove from our list patients who are violent or verbally or physically abusive to any of the practice staff.
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DATA PROTECTION
An individuals right of access to personal data held on computer is governed by the Data Protection Act 1984.
Find out more about Data Protection here.
VIOLENCE AGAINST GENERAL PRATITIONERS AND THEIR STAFF
The NHS zero tolerance zone campaign of violence against general practitioners and their staff, is supported by the Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General. Assaults on staff are regarded as serious matters, worthy of prosecution. The campaign has two aims:
- To make it absolutely clear to the public that violence or verbal abuse against staff working in, and or, the NHS is unacceptable and the Government, and the NHS has made a commitment to stamp it out; and
- To reassure all staff that violence and intimidation is unacceptable and is being tackled.
The term violence covers a wide range of incidents, not all of which involve injury. The definition used here is;
Any incident in which a person working in the healthcare sector is verbally abused, threatened or assaulted by a patient or member of the public in circumstances relating to his or her employment.
Using this definition, violent incidents do not necessarily need to cause physical harm. The range of incidents can include those that:
- Cause major injury
- Require medical assistance
- Require first aid only
- Involve a threat, even if no physical injury results
- Involve verbal abuse
- Involve non-verbal abuse
- Involve other threatening behaviour
Any patient found committing any of the above incidents will be removed from the practice patient list.
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