Our Responsibility To You
- You will be greeted courteously
- You have a right to confidentiality
- You have the right to see your medical records subject to the limitation of the law
- You will be seen the same day if your problem is urgent
- You will be seen by your own doctor whenever possible
- You will be informed if there will be a delay of more than 20 minutes for your appointment
- You will be referred to a consultant when your GP thinks it necessary
- You will be given the result of any test or investigation on request or at your next appointment
- Your repeat prescription will be ready or for collection 48 hours after your request
- Your suggestions and comments about the services offered will be considered sympathetically and any complaint dealt with quickly
Your Responsibilities to Us
- Please treat all surgery staff with the same respect – we are all just doing our job
- Do not ask for information about anyone other than yourself
- Tell us of any change of name or address, so that our records are accurate
- Only request an urgent appointment if appropriate. Home visits should only be requested if you are too ill to attend surgery, and night visits should be for emergencies only – the Doctor On-Call will be at work as usual the next day
- Please book a double appointment if you need to discuss multiple problems with the Doctor
- Please cancel your appointment if you are unable to attend
- Please be punctual, but be prepared to wait if your own consultation is delayed by an unexpected emergency
- Please allow sufficient time for your consultant’s letter or the results of any tests to reach us
- Use the tear off slip to request your repeat prescription whenever possible.
- Please attend for review, when asked, before your next prescription is due
- Do let us know whenever you feel we have not met our responsibilities to you
We would, of course, be pleased to hear when you feel praise is due as well
Confidentiality
In order to ensure that you get the best possible continuity of medical care we keep records of every consultation. Your written records are locked away when the surgery is shut and your computer records can only be accessed via unique passwords. Your records are managed in accordance with the Data Protection Act. All doctors and their staff are governed by strict rules of confidentiality about patient information.
No information given to us can be divulged to anyone outside the surgery unless you give us written permission to do so. We cannot give out any information about you to friends, family, partners, employers, police, social services, Benefits Agencies, insurance companies, solicitors etc without your agreement or unless we are legally obliged to do so (e.g. under a Court Order).
Unfortunately, at times this may mean that the receptionist might appear to be withholding information, but they are following the guidelines and are not trying to be obstructive. Your understanding of this matter would be very much appreciated.
More information about how information is shared across health services in Sheffield can be found below.
For information relating to the Health & Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) please visit the website www.hscic.gov.uk/yourinfo or the NHS Choices Website.