FIVE ELMS MEDICAL PRACTICE

Practice Charter

Our services to you the patient

We do our best to look after your health needs by treating and preventing illness. You should find our services helpful, kind caring and confidential.

When you attend the surgery, we will provide you with a service as promptly as possible and will not leave you waiting more than 30 minutes for your appointment without an explation.

When you are medically unfit to come to surgery you may expect a home visit, at your doctor’s discretion.

You have a right to know as much about your medical condition as you want to know. We will not discuss you case with anybody else, unless you wish us to and have given your written consent. You are welcome to see your health records if you wish.

We have a complaints procedure and if you are not happy about any services you should tell us. We will take the matter seriously and do our best to set it right for you.

Help Us To Help You

Please do what you can to avoid wasting your own as well as the doctor’s time. Do not come with minor coughs and colds or tummy bugs which do not require a doctor’s help. A chemist can advise on simple measures and over the counter remedies.

Try not to come with problems which are not medical. Doctors are not lawyers, financial advisers or housing experts.

Please do not abuse our services – in particular do not ask for home visits when you are able to travel to the surgery.

Please help the receptionist to help you. Do not mislead them by making a non-urgent matter seem like an emergency. It is unfair to patients who really are emergencies.

Please be sure to attend appointments made for you at the hospital, unless you no longer need to, in which case inform both us and the hospital.

We will not tolerate verbal or physical abuse towards any staff member. We reserve the right to immediately remove such patients from the practice list.

Thank you for giving these points your attention. Your co-operation is greatly appreciated by all of us at the practice.

Five Elms Medical Practice Patient Participation Group (PPG)
Contribute to the practice’s decision making. We would welcome anyone who would like to join us. If you would like more information please ask at reception.

Confidentiality

We ask you for your 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 effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you be shared between members of the team.

Comments & Complaints

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, preferably at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted in this way and you wish to make a complaint:

You may ask for an appointment with the practice manager Cheryl Hart in order to discuss your concerns. Written complaints should be addressed to the practice manager.

Complaining On Behalf Of Someone Else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, a letter of consent signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because if illness) of providing this.

Complaining To NHS Barking & Dagenham

We hope that if you have a problem you will use our practice complaints procedure, though this does not affect your right to approach the NHS Barking & Dagenham. If you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation, you should contact the NHS Barking & Dagenham complaints manager on 0208 478 5151 for further advice or PALS (patient & liaison service) 0800 3895360.

Staff Protection

The staff in the practice have the right to do their work in an environment free from violent, threatening, racist or abusive behaviour and everything will be done to protect that right.
At no time will such behaviour be tolerated in this practice. If you do not respect the rights of our staff we may choose to inform the police and make arrangements for you to be removed from our practice list.

Freedom Of Information Act 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.

Consent for Student Consultation

Students are from time to time attached to this practice as part of their training to become doctors, nurses and nurse prescribers.
Consent will be obtained from patients before the consultation begins.