The Amicus Health Patients' Charter

In this charter we are stating those rights to which our patients are entitled and the standard of care they can expect to receive from the practice.

Practice Mission Statement

The practice team strives to provide high quality patient care based on carefully evaluated and monitored ethical practices and professional standards. We strive to ensure co-ordination of services with good communication in the practice and in liaison with hospitals and other associated agencies. We seek to ensure patient safety at all times in a relaxed and comfortable environment. We seek to ensure that patients and their carers are welcomed in a courteous and considerate manner, respecting privacy and maintaining confidentiality at all times.

Your Rights

The practice accepts the patients’ rights to:

• receive quality health care including prevention and health screening as well as continuing care;
• be referred to a specialist by your own GP when considered appropriate.;
• be provided with information on all aspects of your care, including the alternatives available, before you agree to treatment.;
• receive prompt treatment in an emergency;
  
• see your health records going back to November 1991 in the presence of a doctor*;
  
• have complaints investigated thoroughly, speedily and without prejudice; and
  
• have confidentiality maintained at all times**.
  

^{*An administration charge will be made. Certain details may be withheld if your GP believes this is in your best interests. You will be told if this is the case.
**Patient information is only accessible within the practice. Details may be shared with third parties such as hospitals or Social Services as part of patient management. Disclosure to others can only occur with written permission from the patient. For more information, please read our privacy policy.}

Consent

Where possible, a clinician must be satisfied that a patient understands and consents to a proposed treatment, immunisation or investigation. This will include the nature, purpose, and risks of the procedure, if necessary by the use of drawings, interpreters, videos or other means to ensure that the patient understands, and has enough information to give ‘Informed Consent’.

Under 16s

Everyone aged 16 or more is presumed to be competent to give consent for themselves, unless the opposite is demonstrated. If a child under the age of 16 has “sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him/her to understand fully what is proposed” (known as Gillick Competence), then he/she will be competent to give consent for him/herself. Young people aged 16 and 17, and legally ‘competent’ younger children, may therefore sign a Consent Form for themselves, but may like a parent to countersign as well. For children under 16 (except for those who have Gillick Competence as noted above), someone with parental responsibility should give consent on the child’s behalf by signing accordingly on the Consent Form.

Chaperones

Chaperones can be used in consultations if needed. You should be offered a chaperone for any intimate examination (such as those of the breast, genitalia or rectum) but can decline. This should remove the potential for misunderstanding. However, there will still be times when either the clinician, or the patient, feels uncomfortable, and it would be appropriate to consider using a chaperone. Patients who request a chaperone should never be examined without a chaperone being present. If necessary, where a chaperone is not available, the consultation / examination should be rearranged for a mutually convenient time when a chaperone can be present.

Our standards

• We will uphold your rights as an individual and ensure respect for cultural and religious backgrounds.
  
• We recognise your needs to discuss your concerns in private and will ensure privacy for consultations and confidentiality at all times.
  
• If your case is urgent, you will be able to see a doctor on the same day. At the surgery, you will be given a full explanation if you are kept waiting more than 20 minutes after your appointment time.
  
• Anyone registered with the practice will be offered a health check on request. Yearly health checks will be available for everyone over the age of 75.
  
• Patients will be greeted and directed courteously and efficiently at all times.
  

• All messages/visit requests will be recorded in the appropriate book and passed on to the doctor concerned as soon as possible.
  

Our expectations of you

We expect that:

• patients accept that staff are acting on the doctors’ behalf and should not be subject to abuse of any kind under any circumstances;
  
• patients notify us as soon as possible if they are unable to keep an appointment as this allows other patients to be seen and keeps waiting times down;
  
• patients waiting in the surgery make allowance for the fact that emergency cases may have to be given priority:
  
• patients requesting a home visit should telephone the surgery before 11:00am, except in emergencies;
  
• patients will not make unnecessary requests for out-of-hours home visits;
  
• during changes to surgeries due to circumstances beyond our control, patients remain polite to staff and give their opinions in writing to the manager, if they require further explanation;
  
• patients asking for test results should telephone after 12 noon;
  

We take seriously any threatening, abusive or violent behaviour against any of our staff or patients. If a patient is violent or abusive, they will be warned to stop their behaviour and may be asked to leave the practice premises. In extreme circumstances the police will be called. We may exercise our right to take action to have the person removed, immediately if necessary, from our list of patients.