Practice Charter

Our charter is a statement of what you can expect from this Practice and what we feel we can expect in return from you.

You can expect that, at Grove House Practice:

• all patients will be treated equally. We do not discriminate on the grounds of gender, gender identity, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age
• our premises will be clean and comfortable and have facilities for the disabled
• all patients will be greeted in a friendly manner and be treated with courtesy by everyone in the practice
• strictest confidentiality will be maintained
• all clinicians and staff will be trained and qualified to an appropriate level
• patients will be offered advice about how to stay healthy and avoid illness
• new patients registering with the practice will be offered a health check
• patients will be referred to a consultant or for tests when the doctor feels this is necessary
• we will always see all patients with medically urgent problems as soon as possible (and usually on the same day)
• complaints will be dealt with by our Business Manager (who will refer complaints to the doctors where appropriate)

With these rights come responsibilities and for patients this means patients are asked to:

• attend their booked appointments at the arranged time
• inform the Practice as soon as possible if they no longer need or cannot attend a booked appointment
• understand that appointments are for one person only. Additional appointments will be made if more than one person needs to be seen
• take responsibility for their own health and the health of their children and should co-operate with the practice in endeavouring to keep themselves healthy
• take responsibility for their medication and always give at least 48 hours’ notice for repeat medication requests to be processed
• only request an urgent (on-the-day) appointment for those conditions that will worsen if not addressed the same day
• understand that home visits are made at the discretion of the doctor and are for housebound patients only. It is important to bear in mind that most medical problems are dealt with more effectively in the clinical setting of a well-equipped surgery
• understand that many problems can be solved by advice alone, therefore patients should not always expect a prescription at every consultation
• treat both the clinicians and staff with courtesy and respect
• respond in a positive way to questions asked by the Reception staff, in order to ensure they can offer the best service to meet your needs
• always inform the practice staff as soon as possible of any alterations in their circumstances, such as change of surname, address or telephone number, even if it is ex-directory