Rights and Responsibilities
of Patients
• We ask that our patients treat all the doctors and all practice staff with courtesy
and respect. If patients are violent or abusive to staff or doctors they will
be removed from our list immediately. It will then be up to them to find alternative
medical care.
• Please try to stay with the same
doctor for ongoing problems.
• Please do everything you can
to keep appointments. If you cannot attend please cancel as early as possible
so the appointment can be offered to someone else.
• Please remember to check your
cupboards before ordering repeat prescriptions.
These take 48 hours before
they will be at the chemist.
• If telephoning for results please
try and phone between 3.30 - 4.30pm when a member of staff will be available to
answer your query. Be prepared to answer questions to confirm your identity.
• You have a responsibility to
help us maintain accurate records. Please remember to tell us if you change your
name and address.
Comments and Suggestions
We are happy to accept comments and
suggestions from our patients. Please feel free to use the box provided in the
waiting area or put your ideas in writing to the practice manager.
Complaints and Suggestions Procedure
As a practice we try very hard to
provide high quality care, but occasionally there will be times when patients
feel that things have gone wrong. If you would like to suggest improvements, we
would like to discuss this with you. You may discuss your suggestions with the
practice manager or your general practitioner. In more serious cases we suggest
the following procedure should be adopted.
1. Please put your complaint in writing
as soon as possible and address it to the practice manager.
2. Your complaint will be acknowledged
within 48 hours.
3. A meeting will be arranged with
the complainant, the practice manager and the senior doctor available, within
two days if possible, and certainly within a week.
4. Having listened to your complaint,
a full investigation will take place in the practice forthwith.
5. An explanation, apology if necessary,
and alteration of organisation if this is possible and indicated, will be carried
out.
6. If the foregoing procedure does
not result in resolution of the complaint, the complaint can be forwarded to,
for example, The Complaints Team, NHS Highland, PO Box 5713, Inverness, IV1 9AQ
Confidentiality
of Records
1) Practice
inspections
To ensure that quality of care provided to patients
is kept to the highest standard all practices are required to undergo regular
practice visits by external assessors. These visits involve a team of five assessors
which may include a lay member.
During such
a visit:-
- Practice records may be disclosed
to persons outside the practice team.
- The purpose of such disclosure is
strictly limited to a verification process which is required to assess the quality
of care provided by their practice.
- The visit team adheres to a strict
duty of confidentiality.
- The lay visitor does not need to
have access to medical information about individual patients.
- Any patient may object to the whole
or part of the inspection of their own records and be assured that their objection
will be respected.
If you do not wish your records
to be inspected on any such visit, inform the staff at reception.
2) Access
to medical records
Patients can apply to the practice to see their
own medical records. They should apply in writing and an appointment will be made
for them to come to the practice to see them.
A charge may apply if copies are requested.
3) Data protection
Patients' records are used for the following purposes within the practice:
- Routine record keeping and consultation
of records in the course of provision of care and treatment.
- Disclosures made by health professional
to another, eg where a GP refers to a specialist.
- Clinical audit, eg where checks
are made by the practice to ensure your care is up to standard.
- Processing for administrative purposes,
eg where a disclosure is made so that a GP can be paid for providing a particular
service and also post-payment checks by the Health Board.
- Administrative audit, eg studies
designed to improve the efficiency of the NHS as an organisation.
- Statutory and non-statutory disclosures
to disease registers and for epidemiological research.
If you have concerns about the use
of your personal data for any of these purposes please discuss with your doctor.
4) Freedom
of Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came
into force on 1st January, 2005 and enables any person requesting information
from a public body to receive that information, subject to certain exemptions.
This is to encourage public authorities (eg. GP Practices) to be more open and
accountable and organise their information in an efficient and accessible way.
This
excludes personal data.
Download the Practice Publication Scheme document HERE!
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