Suggestions & Complaints

We try at all times to provide the highest standard of care for our patients, however we realise that there may be occasions when we may not meet your expectations.

The aim of the In-House Complaints Procedure is to resolve your complaint quickly and to your satisfaction.

Please ask at Reception for a copy of the Information Leaflet.

STANDARDS OF CARE WE UNDERTAKE TO PROVIDE FOR OUR PATIENTS

ALL MEMBERS OF THE HEALTH CENTRE STAFF ARE COMMITTED TO CERTAIN STANDARDS OF CARE TO ACHIEVE THE KIND OF SERVICE WHICH MEETS WITH OUR PATIENTS APPROVAL AND REQUIREMENTS.  

THESE ARE

• Patients have the right to absolute confidentiality
• Patients have the right to be treated courteously
• Doctors and Nurses will begin surgeries and clinics at appointed times.  Any delay will be due to medical necessity.  Where there is a delay in excess of 15 minutes, patients will be informed. 
• Patients have the right to information about their own health, in particular:  the illness and its treatment, alternative forms of treatment, the likely outcome of this treatment and access to their health records, subject to any limitation in the law. 
• The practice will offer advice and seek to inform patients of:  steps they can take to promote good health and to avoid illness, for example, advice on smoking, alcohol and exercise. 
• The Practice will inform patients of services available by means of the Practice Brochure, Newsletter, leaflets and notice board. 
• All new patients will be offered an appointment with a Doctor or the Practice Nurse. 
• An urgent medical condition will be given priority, although this may cause delay to booked appointments. 
• A patient with a non urgent complaint should be able to consult a Doctor or a Nurse within 48 hours. 
• The Reception staff will try to accommodate urgent late requests for Repeat prescriptions with the minimum of delay. 
• All complaints will be thoroughly investigated and resolved in an amicable manner.

YOUR INVOLVEMENT AS OUR PATIENT WOULD MEAN

• Giving 24 hours notice for Repeat Prescribing (This allows for accurate prescribing) 
• Making every effort to attend the Health Centre to make best use of the Doctors’ and Nurses’ time. (Home visits should be medically justified and not requested because it is more socially convenient to do so) 
• Being courteous to administrative staff members (Please remember they are working to help you and to fulfil the remit given by the Doctors) 
• Attending appointments on time, or giving adequate notice of a wish to cancel. (Lateness or non-attendance inconveniences other patients and wastes an appointment) 
• Making one appointment for one person only (Where another member of the family needs to be seen, or discussed, another appointment should be made thus allowing that patient’s notes to be made available and avoid  other patients waiting longer than they need to) 
• Being flexible in accepting an appointment with another GP when the Doctor of choice is not available. (We always try to accommodate patients in this respect, but sometimes it is impossible.)

Confidentiality

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 information recorded also enables us to analyse various aspects of health and to produce an annual Practice Report.

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 team.

---

YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION 

To provide you with the care you need we hold the details of your consultations, illnesses, tests, prescriptions and other treatments which have been recorded by everyone involved in your care and treatment, eg. GP, Health Visitor, Practice Nurse.  This information may be stored electronically on computer files by Practice Staff. 

We sometimes disclose some of your personal health information to other organisations involved in your care.  For example, when your GP refers you to a specialist at the hospital we will send relevant details about you in the referral letter and receive information about you from them.  Our practice also participates in regional and national programmes such as the cervical cytology screening service and your name and address, date of birth and health number will be given to them in order to send an invitation to you. 

We need to use some of your personal health information for administrative purposes.  In order to receive payment for services provided to you, we have to disclose basic details about you to the NHS Board responsible for this area and to the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service.  These organisations have a role in protecting public funds and are authorised to check that payments are being properly made.  We are required to co-operate with these checks and the disclosure of your date is a necessary part of our provision of healthcare services. 

Sometimes, we may participate in studies that are designed to improve the way services are provided to you or to check that our performance meets required standards and benchmarks.  Whenever we take part in activities such as these we will ensure that as far as possible any details that may identify you are not disclosed. 

We are sometimes involved in health research and the teaching of student nurses, doctors and other health professionals.  We will not use or disclose your personal health information for these purposes unless you have been informed beforehand and given your consent for us to do so. 

Where you need a service jointly provided with a local authority we will seek your permission before giving them your details. 

Sometimes we are required by law to pass on information et. The notification of births and deaths and certain diseases or crimes to the government as a legal requirement. 

Our use of your personal health information is covered by a duty of confidentiality and is regulated by the Data Protection Act.  The Data Protection act gives you a number of rights in relation to how your personal information is used, including a right to access the information we hold about you. 

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and adheres to a Code of Practice on protecting patient confidentiality.  Further information on this can be found at www.nhs.co.uk/confidentiality.   Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential. 

If you have any queries or concerns on how we use your personal health information, or would like to access your information, please contact the Practice Manager.

Health Promotion

The aim of promoting health is to try to identify risk factors at an early stage and prevent them from causing ill health.  For this reason we may ask about drinking alcohol and smoking habits and measure your blood pressure and weight from time to time.  This is especially wise in people with a history of Heart Disease, Diabetes and Stroke. 

Training

The practice is accredited by the West of Scotland Postgraduate Deanery as a training practice. Both Dr Simms as well as Dr Schmautz are GP trainers within this scheme.

It should be noted that since 2007 postgraduate medical training has changed in the UK following a government review, which produced a report known as Modernising Medical Careers. After a rigorous application process, doctors wishing to specialise in General Practice will be allocated a place on a training scheme; they will initially spend 6 months in general practice, then have a block of hospital appointments and, finally, return to their training practice for one more year. Thus, we currently have 2 doctors in GP training, known as registrars, with us. They are fully qualified doctors who will consult alongside the partners , with protected time set aside for their teaching. Part of their teaching involves videoing of consultations. There is a rigorous consent process for this in place and, of course, patients may elect not to partake in this.