Erskine Health Centre

PRACTICE CHARTER

Our Responsibility To You

We are committed to giving you the best possible service.

Names: People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure you know how to contact them.

Waiting Time: We run an appointment system in the practice. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you. You should not wait more than 30 minutes in the waiting room without receiving an explanation for the delay.

Emergencies: You will have access to a doctor rapidly in the case of emergency. The doctor on call carries a mobile phone and will be contacted in the case of an emergency.

Telephone: We will try to answer the phone promptly and to ensure that there are sufficient staff available to do this. You may not be able to speak to a doctor by telephone immediately, but your request will be added to a register of telephone consultation appointments for the doctor to call you back.

Test Results: If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, we will inform you of the results at your next appointment, where appropriate. If no further appointment needs to be arranged, we will advise you when and how to obtain the results.

Respect: Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs.

Information: We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive that information which directly affects your health and the care being offered.

Health Promotion: The practice will offer patients advice and information on: steps they can take to promote good health and avoid illness; self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor, in the case of minor ailments.

Health Records: You have the right to see your health records, subject to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.

Patients With Special Needs: The practice will make every effort to provide its service in a form appropriate to all its patients. The practice staff are aware of the type of difficulties that can be experienced and will endeavour to assist such patients.

Rights And Responsibilities

Help us to help you.

Please let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number.

Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us as soon as possible if you cannot; otherwise, other patients may have to wait longer.

Please make every effort to arrive on time for your appointment. Patients who arrive late for a booked appointment will be seen at the doctor’s discretion, and may have to wait until the end of the surgery.

Please ask for home visits ONLY when the person is too ill to visit the surgery.

Please keep phone calls brief and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters (ie test results etc).

We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect. The practice will not tolerate any verbal or physical abuse towards the staff or doctors.

Please remember that the reception staff follow guidelines drawn up by the practice and may ask you a number of questions in order to determine how best to help you.

Please read our practice booklet. This will help you to get the best out of the services we offer. It is important that you understand the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Remember, you are responsible for your own health and the health of your children. We will give you our professional help and advice. Please act upon it.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION - PUBLICATION SCHEME

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.

INFORMATION SHARING

The practice complies with 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 district nurse and hospital services.

• To help you get other services, eg from the social work department. This requires your consent.

• When we have a duty to others, eg in child protection cases.

Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services, eg diabetic care. If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Zero Tolerance

The practice considers aggressive, violent or threatening behaviour to staff or other people in the surgery intolerable. In serious cases the practice may call the police and may request the removal of a patient from the practice list.