Patients' Rights
You will be treated with respect and as a partner in your care. Being a partner means you have responsibilities too.
We will:
- Ensure our patients have 24-hour access to medical advice.
- Aim for you to have access to a suitably qualified medical professional within 48 hours of your initial contact during surgery hours, or in an urgent case, the same day.
- Work in partnership with you to achieve the best medical care possible.
- Involve you and listen to your opinions and views in all aspects of your medical care.
- The prevention of disease, illness and injury is a primary concern.
The medical staff will advise and inform you of the steps you can take to promote good health and a healthy lifestyle. We would respectfully ask that you:
- Let us know if you intend to cancel an appointment or are running late.
- Treat staff with courtesy and respect. Reception staff may have to ask some personal questions to assist us in providing you with the best service
- Inform the practice staff of any alterations in your circumstances, such as change of surname, address or telephone number. Please ensure that we have your correct telephone number, even if it’s ex-directory.
As patients, you are responsible for your own health and that of any dependents. It is important that you adhere to information and advice given to you by health professionals, and co-operate with the practice in endeavouring to keep you healthy.
Confidentiality
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 e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. 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 e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff. All members of staff have signed a confidentiality agreement and are aware of the absolute need for confidentiality regarding information we hold about you.
Complaints Procedure
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any other staff working for the practice, you are entitled to ask for an explanation.
An informal in-house complaint procedure has been established to assist you.
This procedure does not deal with complaints which may lead to legal liability or compensation (such cases should be discussed with the local community health Council or your solicitor).
The in-house procedure may in some other cases be an inappropriate approach and you may in that event refer your concerns to Business Service Centre, Pontypool.
Complaints should be addressed to our practice manager who will ensure that your complaint is acknowledged within 5 working days. Your complaint will be investigated quickly and as thoroughly as possible.
You will receive a reply in writing within 20 working days.
It should be pointed out that confidential information cannot be provided without appropriate authority if you are not the patient involved in the complaint.
If you are not sure how to word your complaint you may use the practice complaint form or ask one of the practice receptionists to assist you. When the form is completed, please forward it to the practice manager.
A senior member of the practice staff will investigate your complaint. The investigator will contact you directly if required to ensure that they fully understand your complaint. The investigator will then interview the member(s) of staff concerned and, where relevant, inspect necessary documents.
At the conclusion of the investigation of your complaint the investigator will write to you with their conclusions and, if necessary, will meet with you and discuss the complaint with you in detail.
Suggestions
The practice is at all times trying to achieve the highest possible standards and to this end we are happy to receive your suggestions. If you have any suggestions that you feel may help us please address them to the practice manager, who will be happy to discuss them with you at any time.