Kent House Surgery

1. To provide the best possible service.
2. To be courteous and polite.
3. To try to keep to appointment times and keep you informed of any delays.
4. To provide you with full information of the services which we offer.
5. To respect your wishes and confidentiality.

Your Responsibilities to Us:

Help Us To Help You

1. Inform us of any changes in your circumstances eg change of name, telephone number or address.
   
   
2. Try to keep your appointment and inform us as soon as possible if it is no longer required.
   
   
3. Allow seven days before contacting the surgery, in an afternoon, for test results.
   
   
4. Only request a home visit if you are infirm or too ill to attend the surgery.
   
   
5. Only telephone for a doctor at night or at weekends in cases of emergency.
   
   
6. Please do not present with a long list of ailments when you have only been allocated a single appointment. ONE PROBLEM, ONE APPOINTMENT.
   
   
7. Please do not expect the doctor to see more than one family member per appointment. ONE PATIENT, ONE APPOINTMENT.
   
   
8. Please be patient and courteous to the doctors and staff.

Comments/Suggestions

We are happy to accept and consider constructive comments and suggestions. Please use the suggestion box provided.

Complaints Procedure

We always try to provide the best service possible, but there may be times when we do not meet your expectations. We have two complaint officers whose job it is to respond to patients’ grievances. At all times we have to respect our duty of confidentiality to patients and a patient's consent will be necessary if a complaint is not made by the patient in person. If you wish to make a complaint, please telephone or write to our complaint officers:

Violence

The practice has a policy of zero tolerance.

Any patient who is violent or abusive to a doctor, member of staff or any other person present on the practice premises will be removed from the list immediately.

Confidentiality

The practice computer is registered under the Data Protection Act and strict confidentiality is maintained. All staff are bound by strict rules of confidentiality.

The Protection And Use Of Information We Hold About You

When we ask you for information this is to enable us to give you the best health care treatment.

We then keep this information, together with details of you care, because it may be needed if we see you again, and some of this we will need to pass on to others concerned with your care.

There are times when we may use some of this information, in an anonymised form (ie no patient names), for other reasons. These are, for example:

* To help us protect the health of the public

* For the efficient running of the NHS, ie planning for the future

* To train staff

* Carrying out medical and other research approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee

Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, for example to notify a birth or death.

We would also like you to be aware that:

* If you should wish your relatives or carers to be kept up to date with progress of your treatment please discuss this with your doctor or the nurse delivering your care

* The NHS Central Register for and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a practitioner

* Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential; anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential

* You have the right to access to your health records
If at any time you would like to know more about how we use information about you please ask to speak to the practice manager.

Freedom Of Information – Publication Scheme

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available. This scheme is available from reception.

Primary Care Trust

This practice is located in an area governed by the West Kent PCT which was formed in 2006, replacing three former Trusts. For details of primary medical services in this area, contact the PCT at:

West Kent PCT
Medway Wharf Road
Tonbridge
Kent TN9 1RE

Tel: 01732 375200

http://www.westkentpct.nhs.uk/