Practice Charter

Practice Charter	Beech Hill Medical Practice

PRACTICE CHARTER

Within this Practice we wish to offer all our patients the highest standard of medical care. This charter sets out the standards of care that you can expect from us together with the standards, which we expect from you. We view your health care as a partnership between ourselves and you, as the patient, in which each of us has rights and responsibilities.

As a patient you may expect certain standards from us. You have the right to the following:

Information and answers about your health, in particular
- any illness and its treatment
- alternative forms of treatment
- possible side effects
- prevention and avoidance of illness recurring
To be prescribed appropriate medication
To have access to your health records, subject to any limitations of the law.
To be offered a health check if you are between 16 and 74 and have not seen your GP in the last three years.
To ask for a health check when you first join the Practice
To be referred to a specialist acceptable to you if your GP considers it necessary.
To have access to information about our services via the Practice leaflet and this website
To have your privacy respected and to be dealt with in the strictest confidence by all the Practice Team

In addition to your rights we feel a responsibility to provide the following:

To greet you courteously and promptly.
To offer you the opportunity to see a doctor on the same day
To see you within 30 minutes of your appointment time and to offer you an explanation for unavoidable delays.

In return, your responsibilities to us are:

To value your health and to maintain a healthy lifestyle and minimize health risks.
To treat the GP’s and all the staff with courtesy and respect.
To try and call outside peak surgery times with routine requests.
Not to call for home visit unless you are completely unable to get to the surgery. Home visits are time consuming and the doctor can see many more patients in the surgery, leading to benefits for both doctor and patient.
Not to request an out of hours call unless it is a genuine emergency.
To arrive on time for your appointment.
To inform the Practice of any change of name, address or telephone number.

Any comments, suggestions or complaints about any aspect of our service should be directed to the Practice Manager in the first instance.