The Rights and Responsibilities of Patients

Patients’ Rights

• To be greeted courteously
• To absolute confidentiality. More information on this can be found on the Confidentiality page
• Any delay in meeting appointment times will be due to medical necessity – where there is a delay in excess of 30 minutes, patients have a right to be informed and to make an alternative appointment
• To information about their own health and choices, particularly:
  • the illness and its treatment
  • alternative forms of treatment
  • likely outcome/s of the illness
• To access their health records subject to any limitation in the law and to know that those working for the practice are under a legal duty to keep contents of records confidential
• To be offered advice on:
  • steps they can take to promote good health and to avoid illness, e.g. smoking, exercise, diet, immunisation
  • self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a nurse, health visitor or doctor in the case of minor ailments
• To be kept informed of services available by means of the practice’s brochure, noticeboards, leaflets and website
• To receive urgent medical attention and priority in a medical emergency even when this means a delay to booked appointments
• The choice whether or not to take part in research or training. More information can be found on the Training Practice page
• To benefit from a new patient health check, to identify any potential medical problems and to offer timely interventions
• A choice of services when referral is deemed necessary
• To make any suggestions to improve services. You can do this by completing our Feedback form online
• To make complaints that will be dealt with promptly in accordance with NHS procedures
• To obtain repeat prescriptions within 2 working days of request during normal working hours. More information can be found on the Prescriptions page

Patients’ Responsibilities

• Courtesy to all staff at all times. Receptionists have a very difficult and stressful job and are working under doctors’ orders. There is a zero tolerance policy to violence or abuse towards all staff and other patients. The penalty for violating this rule is immediate removal from the practice list
• To attend appointments on time or to give the practice adequate notice that they wish to cancel – lateness or non-attendance inconveniences other patients and wastes valuable appointment time. There is a cancellation option on the telephone menu where patients can leave a message if no-one is available to answer the call. Patients can also cancel their appointment by completing the Cancel an Appointment form. Patients who persistently fail to attend for a booked appointment where there are no reasonable explanations will be warned and then removed from the list
• Attending surgery for review of repeat medication, or chronic condition, when requested to do so by clinical staff, or admin staff acting on their behalf
• An appointment is for one person only – where another member of the family needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made
• Appointments are for ten minutes. If you think you need a longer appointment please request this while booking
• Home visits are for terminally ill or housebound patients only. Please bring children to surgery. More information about home visits can be found on the Home Visits page
• Out-of-hours calls, e.g. evening, night and weekends, should only be made if they are felt to be a medical emergency.
• Repeat prescriptions should be ordered in good time to ensure that they do not run out. You can order repeat prescriptions by completing the Repeat Prescription Request form