The Finchampstead Surgery

PRACTICE CHARTER

We are proud of the services we provide to our patients. Our mission is to provide the very best health care for you.

Your Rights - You Have The Right To:

• Be registered with the practice and express a preference for which GP you see.
• Be promptly and courteously provided with information and assistance regarding the services provided.
• Receive appropriate health checks.
• Have emergency care when needed.
• Receive information about your health, treatments or illness, and be prescribed with appropriate drugs/medicine according to acceptable modern general practice.
• Referral to a consultant when agreed between you and your GP.
• Have access to your health records subject to limitations in the law and for the contents to be complete, accurate and confidential.
• Choose whether or not to take part in medical research or training.
• A full and prompt reply to any complaint you may make about our service or your treatment.

Your Responsibilities Are To:

• Treat all staff with courtesy and respect at all times. We will remove from our list immediately patients who are violent or seriously abusive towards doctors or any of the practice staff.
• Attend appointments promptly or to give as much notice as possible if you have to cancel; if you are late the practice has the right to ask you to make another appointment.
• Ensure that the reception staff know if a problem is urgent.
• Refrain from booking more than one person per appointment.
• Ask for home visits only if justified and not for social convenience.
• Volunteer all relevant information and follow medical advice given.
• Comply with repeat prescription arrangements and ensure supplies do not run low especially over weekend and holiday periods.
• Remember that Finchampstead Surgery operates an ‘appointments only’ system and if you require to be seen for an urgent medical problem you should telephone first for an appointment.
• Only request night or weekend visits if felt truly necessary on a medical basis as the duty doctor could be working the next day.

Our Commitment To You - We Aim To:

• Give you individual courtesy and respect.
• See you within 30 minutes of your booked appointment (where you have checked in on time) unless there is an emergency situation in which case you may be offered an alternative appointment.
• Treat you as a partner in the care and attention you receive.
• Advise you fully of the services provided.
• Promote a healthy lifestyle for avoiding illness and recommend self-help for minor ailments.
• Provide support and information to the housebound and their carers.
• Continue to improve and develop services, welcoming comments and suggestions.
• Remain approachable and accessible according to statutory terms of service.
• Comply with relevant national standards and regulations.
• Maintain confidentiality within the practice team.

Practice Standards - You Can Expect To:

• Be offered a routine appointment with your usual GP normally within five working days (except during holidays, sickness and study leave).
• Have priority given to urgent requests the same day even when this may cause delay to others.
• Be offered a health check after registering with a doctor and receive an invitation to appropriate health checks thereafter.
• Collect repeat prescriptions and dispensed medication within two full working days from the time of the request.
• Receive a response to any suggestion for improvement after due consideration by the appropriate staff.
• Have a prompt resolution of any difficulties experienced with the services provided in accordance with the practice complaints procedure.

Compliments, Suggestions and Complaints

Everyone at the surgery strives to provide the best service they can to our patients. We are delighted when patients tell us about the high level of care and treatment they or their family have received and we always share any compliments with all the staff. However, we recognise that sometimes we may fall below the high standards patients expect of us. We look to our patients to provide us with feedback about the quality of our services as without this we can not look to improve upon them.

We operate an informal procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with such matters. We hope to resolve any issues effectively and in a timely manner and to the satisfaction of both parties.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the service you receive, please let us know. You may advise a receptionist who will forward your comment to the appropriate person or in writing via our patient comment box or by writing to our business manager. We will review your comment with the appropriate staff and discuss any resulting learning points or action required to improve our service. We will take into consideration the appropriateness and practicalities of your suggestion and, if it is both feasible and financially viable, we will look to make changes to our facilities for the benefit of our patients.

If you believe the surgery has not delivered a high standard of care or service in a particular instance, you may wish to make a formal complaint. All formal complaints must be made in writing to our business manager before they can be taken any further. This is so we have an official account of your complaint and it is clear what matters require addressing. We shall acknowledge your letter within two working days of it being received by the business manager and proceed to investigate your complaint without prejudice. We aim to have concluded the investigation within a further 10 working days following which you will receive a written response which we trust will conclude matters. However, should you feel the matter has not been concluded to your satisfaction you may write to our business manager to request a meeting to discuss the matter further.

Please note:
• This procedure does not deal with matters of legal liability or compensation.
• This procedure does not affect your right to make a formal complaint to NHS Berkshire West the local Primary Care Trust.
The surgery is bound by strict rules of patient confidentiality and we cannot release or provide confidential information without a patient’s appropriate authority, if you are making the complaint on behalf of someone else.

Zero tolerance

The practice adopts a zero tolerance stance to any patient who is violent or abusive to any of its clinicians or staff or any other person, on the surgery premises or in a place where treatment is being provided. Any such patient or individual will be told to leave the premises and will be subsequently removed from the practice list. Our staff are here to care for you and we expect your consideration and respect in return.

Practice Funding

The Partners of The Finchampstead Surgery are an independent GP partnership and are not direct employees of the NHS. Instead they have a contract with the NHS/PCT to provide agreed specified services to their patients. The Practice receives a fixed amount of core funding from the PCT known as the ‘Global Sum’ based on its practice population size, the demographics and the known health needs of its patients. The practice also receives incremental funding for proving that it has achieved high quality patient care in line with specified Quality Outcome Framework targets. Further funding is available through the provision of some additional mandatory services and some voluntary services all knows as ‘Enhanced Services’. Finally, the practice may generate income from private fee work but this is restricted to certain items only and can only represent a small percentage of practice income. It is then the full responsibility of the practice to ensure patient services are delivered to the high specifications required using the funds available. The practice has to manage its own costs for providing these services which include all doctors, nurse and administration staff salaries, medical equipment, facilities maintenance, stationery, utilities, insurance and all other costs of running a business. Our business manager is responsible for coordinating and overseeing practice strategy, funding and expenditure.

Primary Care Trust (PCT)

The Finchampstead Surgery is commissioned and contracted by the local Primary Care Trust, NHS Berkshire West. The PCT covers and contracts over 50 practices throughout the three Berkshire localities of Wokingham, Reading and Newbury to provide Primary Health Care Services for its entire population. The PCT is also responsible for commissioning hospital services (secondary care), accident and emergency services, community services and the out of hours primary care service. They also manage a budget for the provision of drugs and medications to all commissioned services. Funding for all services is set by the PCT and they are accountable to the South Central Strategic Health Authority to utilise this funding to the best possible benefit for patient care, in line with the policies and specification set out by the Department for Health. Funding for improvements in the quality of care is always an emotive subject and with a strict overall budget to adhere to savings may be made in some services to help improve others. As a surgery we believe we are more aware of the needs of our population than government departments. Therefore we welcome your suggestions for improved or new services which we will use in negotiations with the PCT to allocate appropriate funding for better services.

To contact the PCT Headquarters:
NHS Berkshire West Telephone: (0118) 950 3094
57-59 Bath Road Internet: www.berkshirewest-pct.nhs.uk
Reading RG30 2BA

Patient Advice & Liaison Service
Berkshire West PALS Telephone: (0118) 982 2829
57-59 Bath Road Fax: (0118) 982 2905
Reading RG30 2BA e-mail: www.pals.berkswest@berkshire.nhs.uk

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to hold a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information that the practice may provide when requested to do so under the particulars of the act.

Confidentiality

All patient records are treated with the strictest confidentiality by all staff, both clinical and administrative. We comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. Patients should understand that non-clinical staff are required to view medical records as part of their role to support clinicians in providing high quality care. As part of your care we may provide your medical information to other clinicians and their staff in other organisations, such as hospitals, who are also bound by patient confidentiality. We are also required to provide the PCT with health information about our practice population. In these instances we only supply non-patient identifiable data. We may be approached to provide data to medical trial or research companies. Again, no data will be released that can identify a patient unless we have your specific consent. You have the right to ask for your data not to be disclosed.