PRACTICE CHARTER STANDARDS

WHAT WE DO

We don’t see patients in the surgery all day, so what else do we do? Well, there are acute home visits every day; we also visit a number of elderly and housebound patients on a regular basis.

We check and sign all repeat prescriptions and sick notes which have been requested. There are frequent telephone calls asking for advice. There is also lots of paperwork! Letters, reports and results of tests come in daily; all have to be read and acted on. We prepare referral letters to hospital consultants and clinics, and reports for insurance companies, employers and solicitors. We have close contact with social services and prepare reports and attend conferences with them. We have daily discussions (and more formal weekly meetings) with our nurses, health visitors and other staff - extremely important because we work together as a team.

COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

The needs of sick people and their carers are complicated and not always easy to anticipate. As doctors, nurses and receptionists, we try to remember how stressful and worrying it is to be a patient - we too get stressed by the nature of the work and the long hours involved. If you tell us where problems have arisen it gives us the chance to try and put things right. We try to provide the best possible service, but sometimes things do go wrong. If you think this has happened in your case, please speak to our practice manager, Mrs Nikki Long.

PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)

The NHS employs over a million staff in thousands of locations. It is a large and complex organisation providing a broad range of services. It is not surprising that sometimes you or a loved one may feel bewildered or concerned when using the NHS. And this can be at times when you are feeling at your most vulnerable and anxious.

So, what should you do if you want on the spot help when using the health service? The NHS expects all members of staff to listen and respond to you to the best of their ability. But sometimes, you may wish to talk to someone employed especially to help you. The Patient Advice and Liaison Service, known as PALS, has been introduced to ensure that the NHS listens to patients, their relatives, carers and friends, and answers their questions and resolves their concerns as quickly as possible.

PALS also helps the NHS to improve services by listening to what matters to patients and their loved ones and making changes, when appropriate.

What does PALS do?

In particular, PALS will:

• Provide you with information about the NHS and help you with any other health-related enquiry.
• Help resolve concerns or problems when you are using the NHS.
• Provide information about the NHS complaints procedure and how to get independent help if you decide you may want to make a complaint.
• Provide you with information and help introduce you to agencies and support groups outside the NHS.
• Inform you about how you can get more involved in your own healthcare and the NHS locally.
• Improve the NHS by listening to your concerns, suggestions and experiences and ensuring that people who design and manage services are aware of the issues you raise.
• Provide an early warning system for NHS Trusts and monitoring bodies by identifying problems or gaps in services and reporting them.

You can contact PALS at:
Patient Advice & Liaison Service,
Poole Hospital NHS Trust (HIC),
Health Information Centre,
Poole Hospital NHS Trust,
Longfleet Road,
Poole,
Dorset,
BH15 2JB
Telephone: 01202 448499.
Website address is: www.pals.nhs.uk >

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION - PUBLICATION SCHEME

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 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.

ZERO TOLERANCE

The practice supports the NHS policy of zero tolerance with regard to violence or abuse to the doctors, staff or others on the practice premises or other locations where treatment may take place. Persons abusing this policy may be reported to the police and removed from the practice list.

PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the practice team.

LANGUAGES

If your first language is not English, the practice can make arrangements for you to have telephone access to an interpreter during a consultation.

THE TREATMENT ROOM

We offer the benefits of a well-equipped treatment room, much of the equipment having been generously donated by our patients. If you wish to contribute to our equipment fund please contact our practice manager. The treatment room is open from Monday to Friday. Our practice nurses undertake duties such as injections, vaccinations, dressings, smears, removal of stitches and ear syringing. There is a daily transport of pathological specimens to the hospital laboratories; therefore all specimens must be received by 11.00am to link with the specimen transport. Appointments can be booked up to six weeks in advance at the treatment room reception between 9.00am and 1.00pm and at the main reception from 2.00 to 6.30pm.

Our practice nurses play an important role in the management of diseases such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and they organise clinics to support our patients.