Rights & Responsibilities
All patients can be expected to be treated with courtesy and respect by all clinical and administrative staff.
If you have to have an examination when you are with the doctor, you will be offered a chaperone.
If you change your name and/or address, please tell the receptionists as soon as possible so that we can keep the surgery records up to date. This can be done online by clicking on "Change of Address" under "Practice Information".
If you cannot keep an appointment it is important that you let the reception staff know. This will allow someone else to have your appointment slot. This can also be done online by clicking on "Cancel Appointment" on the home page.
The Practice operates a policy of zero-tolerance to violent, abusive or aggressive behaviour. In such cases a patient may be asked to leave the premises without being treated. In cases of violent behaviour it is our policy to call the police and remove the patient from our list.
DNA POLICY
In April 274 patients failed to attend their pre-arranged appointment (known as DNA - Did Not Attend); this is equivalent to 69 appointments per week.
A patient is considered to have DNA'd if:
- They do not telephone to cancel or re-arrange their appointment more than 20 minutes before the beginning of their appointment
- They turn up more than 15 minutes after their appointment time
The effect of this is:
- An increase in the waiting time for appointments for all patients
- Frustration for the compliant patients and for the staff
- A waste of NHS resources
In an attempt to resolve this problem and for the benefits of patients who do attend their appointments, we feel it is our duty to introduce a new DNA Policy:
Stage 1: If you fail to attend a pre-booked doctor or nurse consultation without informing us we will write to you asking if there are any specific problems preventing you from cancelling your appointments.
Stage 2: If you fail to attend a second pre-booked consultation within 6 months of your first DNA, we will write to you again with a formal warning.
Stage 3: If you fail to attend a third consultation within 6 months of your first DNA it is likely that you will be removed from the list. We will discuss all cases as we recognise that on occasion there may be special circumstances for non-attendance. However, if we do remove you we will advise you as to how you should re-register with another practice. You would not be allowed to re-register with Garden Lane Medical Centre for a period of 1 year.
Patient Suggestions and comments
We welcome patients comments and suggestions regarding the Practice. We have a suggestions box in the waiting room and cards are available for you to complete if you have a suggestion. This is emptied regularly and all suggestions are read and acted upon as appropriate.