The
Patient: Your Responsibilities
We are here to help you,
but to do this we sometimes need your assistance. Here we explain the
ways in which you can help the surgery provide a better service for
all patients.
- Patients should respect
their health and therefore seek to maintain a healthy lifestyle and
minimise their health risks.
- Patients should value
the members of the practice team as professional advisers. This includes
extending the same courtesy and politeness as they would expect to receive.
- Requests for repeat prescriptions
should be made in good time to avoid unnecessary delay in treatment.
Requests should be made in writing to the surgery and where possible
be deposited by the patient in the repeat prescription box on the reception
desk at our Denbigh Street site. In the case of emergencies or for those
that are housebound, requests will be taken over the phone.
- Requests for help or advice
for non-urgent conditions should be made within normal surgery hours.
This includes the Kensington, Chelsea, Westiminster out of hours doctors service which should only
be used in the case of urgent medical conditions and not for routine
problems or queries.
- The patient should do
everything possible to keep appointments. The surgery should be notified
as soon as possible if you are unable to attend, so that the appointment
can be given to another patient. Failing to turn up for appointments
without notifying the surgery in advance could prevent possibly urgent
cases from receiving earlier medical attention.
- Whilst privacy is respected
by all staff, it would be helpful if patients would indicate the nature
of the appointment ie blood tests, vaccinations, smears, etc, so that
we can advise on the best member of the team to consult.
- Home visits should be
regarded as a service for the genuinely housebound or seriously ill.
They are time consuming and their misuse would disadvantage those in
genuine need.
- If you are a new patient
please be ready to tell us details of your past medical history, including
illnesses, medication, hospital admissions and other relevant details.
Make sure you have registered all the members of your household.
- If you move house or are
planning to in the near future you should notify the surgery of your
new address as soon as possible. Remember that in the case of an emergency
we may need to contact you urgently.
- Due to the importance
the surgery places on effective use of resources, patients found repeatedly
failing to attend appointments without notifying the surgery in advance,
abusing the home visits or KCW night service or repeatedly phoning in
to request repeat prescriptions will have their registration status
reviewed.
COMPLAINTS
AND SUGGESTIONS
While we always try to provide
you with the quickest and best treatment we can, we realise we are not
perfect. There are areas of the surgery that can be improved and times
when we may do things wrong. We want to hear from you about any aspect
of the surgery that you find important or you feel does not satisfy
your needs.
Formal Complaints
We hope that you will never
need to complain about the service we have provided. However, we are
realistic and know that it is almost impossible to prevent all causes
of complaints. If you want to register a complaint, there are a number
of ways this can be done:
- Filling in
a Complaints Form in the Surgery. These are available from the reception
staff at both our sites. If you require help in registering your complaint
there will always be a member of the practice team who will be happy
to assist you.
- Registering a Complaint
Over the Phone. You can phone the surgery and register your grievance.
The receptionist will record your complaint on a Telephone Complaint
Form. This will then be sent with a SAE for you to verify, sign and
return. Until we have your approval as to the wording of your complaint
we will NOT start investigating your grievance.
- Using a Third Party.
A third party can register a complaint on your behalf but they must
have your written permission. They will then be your representative
during the investigation of your grievance.
- Writing a Letter.
If you wish, you can simply write to the practice about your grievance.
This will be treated in the same way as any other complaint.
What Happens to Your Complaint?
On receiving your complaint
it is immediately passed to the practice manager, Dixie Coombs, or if
she is unavailable it will be passed to Dr Alastair Mitchell, who is
the doctor responsible for the complaints procedure.
- You should receive acknowledgement
of your complaint within five working days.
- We hope to provide you
with a satisfactory resolution within 10 working days. If required this
will be in writing.
All complaints are justciable under English law only.
If necessary, a meeting
can be arranged with the member(s) of the practice team involved; we can
also provide interpreters if we are given at least one day of notice
(you may have to wait up to three days for some of the less common languages).
We promise complete confidentiality
in dealing with all complaints.
Documentation relating to
complaints is NOT kept in the patient's records but in a complaints
file that is strictly confidential. We promise that no information will
be passed to any source outside the practice without your prior written
permission.
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the practice complaints procedure, feel unable to approach the practice directly or, if the matter is one of clinical misconduct, you may find it necessary to contact the Westminster Primary Care Trust complaints department. If you are still dissatisfied with the way your complaint has been handled you can contact the Medical Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is appointed by government and is the highest level of appeal. The contact details for both these bodies are as follows:
Westminster Primary Care Trust, 15 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JD.
Health Service Ombudsman, 11th Floor, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW12 4QP.
Tel: (020) 7276 2035
Learning by Our Mistakes
Our aim is that no complaint
will be made twice. We review all complaints once they have been resolved
to work out ways to stop the same problem areas arising in future. We
also regularly audit comments and suggestions to try to put possible
problem areas right before they turn into complaints.
Computers
And Records
The practice is fully computerised.
All records are protected by the Data Protection Act and a copy may
be obtained for £10. Paper records may be inspected by agreement
with the doctor.
Confidentiality
All the staff are aware of
the need for total confidentiality of consultations, records and results.
This may mean that they are unable to disclose information, even to
partners or close relatives, without permission of the patient.
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.
Zero Tolerance
We strongly support the NHS policy on zero tolerance. Anyone attending the surgery who abuse's the GP's staff or other patients be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the practice list. In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the practice premises.
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