Patients Responsibilities
We ask that you treat our doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect at all times.
- The first hour of the morning can be extremely busy taking urgent calls. Please keep telephone calls as brief as possible and leave routine calls till later in the day.
- Please let us know if you are unable to keep an appointment. We can then offer the appointment to someone else.
- Please contact the surgery between 8:00am and 10:00am on 02380 877900 to request a home visit during the day.
- You are responsible for your own health and that of your children. With that in mind please take the advice given to you by the clinicians within the practice.
- Please let use know if you change your address or name and remember to provide a contact telephone number for you or your carer along with your post code.
- In surgery you can discuss any medical matters with the doctor, including asking for a second opinion.
- If tests are ordered for you, please allow up to 4 working days for blood test results to come back to the surgery and up to 10 days for x-ray or ultrasound results to come back. Hospital letters from consultants may take 10 days or more to arrive. Our post does not arrive until after lunch time so please call after 2:00pm for all results.
- If you wish to see your medical records this can be arranged via consent from your doctor. Please make all requests in writing to Mrs Julie Stewart, Practice Manager. A time will be arranged for you to come in and sit with a member of staff whilst you view your notes. You will need to show proof of identity prior to seeing your notes. There may be a fee payable should you request copies of your notes.
- Repeat prescriptions are processed between 8:30 – 11:00 am cannot be taken over the telephone. You must request in writing by fax on 02380 877900 or by handing in your request slip at reception. Please allow 48 hours for your prescription to be processed.
- Please read our practice leaflet or go on-line to our website at www.forestsidemedicalpractice.co.uk to see the services we provide.
- Where an appointment or acknowledgement of a routine referral for a hospital is not received within six weeks, please contact the hospital or outpatients concerned
Suggestions or Complaints
We are very happy to receive constructive comments and any suggestions for helping us improve services to our patients. Similarly if you have a complaint we will deal with it in a constructive way and will acknowledge any written formal complaints within 48 hours. (This may be via the secretary over the telephone should your doctor of the practice manager be away). Please send any complaints in writing to either your doctor or to the Practice Manager Mrs Julie Stewart.
Confidentiality
Should you wish to speak to someone in confidence, please ask at reception and a room will be made available to assist you further.
We ask you for personal information in order for you to receive appropriate care and treatment. This information will be recorded within your computer clinical records for future reference. 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 the effective functioning of multi-disciplinary teams it is sometimes necessary to share information about you between other team members.
Practice audits are run periodically at the request of the Health Authority or the Department of Health which enables us to analyse different aspects of health care within GP practice via these reports.
We are a training practice and have registrars in general practice who are in their final stages of their GP Training. These doctors are fully qualified with at least three years postgraduate hospital experience. GP registrars are available in surgery but may request videoing consultations throughout the year to assist them in reviewing consultations with their GP Trainer.
The reception staff will let you know if a video session is taking place, and ask you to sign a consent form. Please do not feel obliged, but be reassured that the video will only be used for training and appraisal purposes.