Patient’s Rights to General Medical Services
- To be offered a health check on joining a doctor’s list for the first time.
- To have appropriate drugs and medicine prescribed.
- To be referred to a Consultant acceptable to them when they and their GP thinks it is necessary, and to be referred for a second opinion if they and their GP think it is advisable.
- To have access to their health records, subject to any limitations of the law, and to know that those working for the NHS are under a legal duty to keep those records confidential.
- To choose whether to take part in research or medical student training.
- To receive a copy of their doctors practice leaflet, setting out the services that he or she provides.
- To receive a full and prompt reply to any complaints they make about the care they receive at the Dr Upton & Partners.
Dr Kaur & Dr Murtaza Philosophy:
Our aims are to offer the highest standard of health care and advice to our patients, with the resources available to us.
We have a team approach to patient care and endeavour to monitor the service provided to patients, to ensure that it meets current standards of excellence.
We are dedicated to ensuring that Practice staff and Doctors are trained to the highest level and to provide a stimulating and rewarding environment in which to work.
Our Practice Charter
- You will be treated with courtesy and respect by all Practice personnel.
- An urgent appointment with a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner will be available on the same day.
- A non-urgent appointment with a doctor will be offered within 5 working days
- Our standard is to see 80% of patients within 20 minutes of their appointment time. If you have waited longer than this please ask the Receptionist for an explanation.
- We aim to answer the telephone within twelve rings.
- An appointment with a Practice Nurse will be available within five working days.
- Requests for repeat prescriptions will be dealt with within 48 hours. This can be in person, online or by telephoning 01538 751415 between 8.30am and 1pm, 2pm and 6pm Monday to Friday (closed at 1pm on a Thursday)
- All comments and suggestions about the service are welcome. Please use the box provided in the entrance area.
- If you have a complaint please speak to any member of staff. Your complaint will be dealt with in a professional and efficient manner.
- We wish to make the Dr Upton & Partners as accessible as possible. If you have hearing, visual or physical difficulties please let the receptionist know so that we can enable you to fully use our services.
Patient’s Responsibilities
- If you are unable to attend for an appointment please let us know so that we can offer it to someone else.
- If you are late for your appointment you may be asked to rebook at another time. Try to let us know in advance if you are going to be unavoidably delayed, so that we can make alternative arrangements to help you.
- A home visit should only be requested for those who are unable to come to the surgery because of serious illness or infirmity. Please ring the surgery before 10am if at all possible.
- An urgent appointment is for an urgent medical problem. Please speak to the Receptionist if you require a sick note or repeat prescription.
- We would ask you to be patient if the Doctor is running late. This is often due to unforeseeable emergencies but please ask for an explanation from the Receptionist.
- Make a separate appointment for each patient that needs to be seen. This allows the Doctor enough time to treat each patient with the time that they deserve.
- Please act in a responsible and courteous manner whilst on the Practice premises for the safety and comfort of others.
- Please treat all surgery staff, fellow patients, carers and visitors politely and with respect. Violence or verbal harassment will not be tolerated or accepted, you may be asked to register at another surgery if this behaviour occurs.
Zero Tolerance Policy
The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and all other staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.
We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and all other staff courteously and act reasonably.
All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning or removed from the practice list if your behaviour has been unreasonable.
However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from The Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.
Examples of Unacceptable Standards of Behaviour:
- Violence
- Excessive noise e.g. recurrent loud or intrusive conversation or shouting
- Threatening or abusive language involving swearing or offence remarks
- Intimidation Tactics
- Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
Removal from the practice list
A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Practice, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.
Freedom Of Information – Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 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.