Locking Hill Surgery

As a team, we are committed to providing you with the highest possible standard of health care. We aim to give you the advice and information you need to achieve and maintain better health and the best health care possible using the resources available to us.

Our Responsibilities To You

• Your confidentiality will be maintained at all times.
  
  
• We will always see emergencies on the same day.
  
  
• The doctors and nurses will aim to see patients within 15 minutes of their appointment time. Should there be a delay you can expect to be kept informed by the reception staff.
  
  
• Requests for daytime home visits received by 10.30am will normally be seen by 1.00pm. Emergency visit requests received after that time will be relayed to the duty doctor who will contact you within one hour.
  
  
• You have the right to see your health records (subject to the limits of the law).
  
  
• You can expect to be offered appropriate advice about how to stay healthy and avoid illness.
  

Your Responsibilities To Us

Please help us to help you by observing the following:

• Please be on time for appointments - this reduces delay.
  
  
• If there is a delay, please be tolerant as emergencies do occur.
  
  
• If you are unable to keep an appointment, please let us know so that we can offer the appointment to another patient.
  
  
• If more than one person needs to be seen by the doctor, please make a separate appointment for each one.
  
  
• Please do not ask for a home visit unless you are truly housebound- please come to the surgery whenever possible. A doctor can see a number of patients at the surgery in the time that it takes to visit one patient at home.
  
  
• Please remember that the out-of-hours service is for urgent cases only that cannot possibly wait until the next working day.
  
  
• Help us to keep our records up-to-date by advising us of any change in your circumstances.
  
  
• Ultimately you are responsible for your own health and we invite you to work with us to keep you in good health.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

We always try to provide the best possible service but there may be times when you do not feel that this has happened. If you wish to make a complaint, please telephone or write to Jenny Vallely, practice manager. She will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days and you will receive a response to your complaint within 10 working days. The Primary Care Trust ask that we endeavour to resolve patient complaints at practice level wherever possible but you still have the right to address your complaint to the Primary Care Trust.

Please address to: Complaints & Communications Lead, Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, Trust HQ, Cirencester Hospital, Tetbury Road, Cirencester GL7 1UX.

Telephone: 0845 422 2730.

A copy of our Practice Complaints Procedure leaflet is available from the surgery.

SUGGESTIONS

We constantly explore ways in which we can improve our service and from time to time will be asking for your opinions and suggestions regarding specific topics. This will be in the form of a short questionnaire. If, in the meantime, you wish to express your views, please write to Jenny Vallely, practice manager.

ZERO TOLERANCE

We strongly support the NHS policy on zero tolerance. Anyone attending the surgery who abuses the GPs, staff or other patients be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the practice list. In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the practice premises.

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.