The Oaklands Practice : The Practice Commitment

<body bgcolor="#EBBC96"> <p><strong>Duties of a doctor registered with The General Medical Council</strong></p> <p>Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and well-being. To justify that trust, we as a profession have a duty to maintain a good standard of practice and care and to show respect for human life.</p> <p>In particular as doctors we must and will:</p> <p>make the care of our patients our first concern<br /> treat every patient politely and considerately<br /> respect patients’ dignity and privacy<br /> listen to patients and respect their views<br /> give patients information in a way they can understand<br /> respect the rights of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their care<br /> keep our professional knowledge and skills up to date<br /> recognise the limits of our professional competence<br /> be honest and trustworthy<br /> respect and protect confidential information<br /> make sure that our personal beliefs do not prejudice our patients’ care<br /> act quickly to protect patients from risk if we have good reason to believe that a doctor or a colleague may not be fit to practise<br /> avoid abusing our position as a doctor<br /> work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients’ interests<br /> in all these matters, never discriminate unfairly against our patients<br /></p> <p><strong>Our Commitment</strong></p> <p>The Oaklands Practice team is committed to high quality health care.We aim to provide you with a professional, helpful and caring service and to this end aim to maintain the following standards:</p> <p>To maintain absolute confidentiality.<br /> To offer a range of appointment times to suit the needs of the practice population.<br /> To begin surgeries at appointed times and to inform patients of any delay due to medical necessity or unforeseen circumstances.<br /> To prescribe medicines and drugs as deemed appropriate at consultation and to give a clear explanation of any treatment proposed.<br /> To refer onward appropriately to a consultant or other agency as required.<br /> To allow the patient to see his or her health records, subject to limitations of the law.<br /> To see patients as soon as possible at times of medical emergency, either in surgery or at a home visit if the condition requires it.<br /> The Practice Manager will investigate and respond to any written complaint received from a patient within two days.<br /> To give the patient the opportunity to choose whether to be involved in research and medical training.<br /> To see patients on the day they request, though not necessarily with their usual doctor.<br /> </p> <p>Very occasionally a practice-patient relationship breaks down completely. In this situation the patient may choose to register with a different practice. The practice also has the right to remove that patient from their list. This would generally only follow a warning that had failed to remedy the situation and we would normally give the patient a reason for the removal.</p> <p><strong>What we Expect of You</strong></p> <p>In turn we would appreciate your co-operation and ask you:</p> <p>To request a home visit only if the patient is too ill or immobile to attend the surgery.<br /> To request a home visit before 10.00 am if you wish to be seen that day in order to allow doctors to organise their schedules.<br /> To request “out of hours” visits (evenings, nights, weekends and Bank Holidays) only when they are essential and for an urgent medical necessity. Telephone calls at night time should only be made where they cannot be left until the next day.<br /> To enter a repeat prescription request at least the day before it is required; it can then be collected after 4.00 pm the following weekday.<br /> To let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number.<br /> To ask us questions if you are unsure of anything. It is our job to give you treatment and advice. In the interests of your health it is important for you to understand all the information given to you.<br /> To let us know if you are unable to come for your appointment.<br /> </p> <p>The NHS operates a Zero Tolerance Policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons.</p> <p>Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety.</p> <p>In this situation we are obliged to notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it. The PCT is then responsible for providing further medical care for such patients.</p> <br /> <p><a href="../home/index.htm" target="_top">Home Page</a></p> </body>