The McGlone Practice

Practice Charter Standards

These are the local standards set within this practice for the benefit of our patients. It is our job to give you treatment and advice. Following discussion with you, you will receive the most appropriate care, given by suitably qualified people. No care or treatment will be given without your informed consent. In the interest of your health it is important for you to understand all the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Our Responsibility To You

We are committed to giving you the best possible service.

• Names: People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how to contact them. The surgery should be well signposted and the doctors' or nurses' names are indicated on their surgery rooms.
  
  Waiting Time: We run an appointment system in this practice. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you. You should not wait more than 30 minutes in the waiting room without receiving an explanation for the delay.
  
  Access: We aim to see the day you phone into the surgery.
  
  Telephone: We will try to answer the phone promptly and to ensure that there are sufficient staff available to do this.
  
  Test Results: If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, we will inform you of the results at your next appointment. If no further appointment needs to be arranged, we will advise you when and how to obtain the results.
  
  Respect: Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs.
  
  Information: We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the information which directly affects your health and the care being offered.
  
  Health Promotion: The practice will offer patients advice and information on:
  Steps they can take to promote good health and avoid illness.
  Self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in the case of minor ailments.
  
  
• Health Records: You have the right to see your health records, subject to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.

Your Responsibilities To Us

Please do not ring before you have been asked to do so. Enquiries about tests ordered by the hospital should be directed to the hospital, not the practice.

We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect.

Please read our practice booklet. This will help you to get the best out of the services we offer. It is important that you understand the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Remember, you are responsible for your own health and the health of your children. We will give you our professional help and advice. Please act upon it.

Please ask if you wish to see your doctor.

Your Personal Information

To provide you with the care you need, we hold details of your consultations, and illnesses, tests, prescriptions and other treatments that have been recorded by everyone involved in your treatment eg GP, health visitor, and practice nurses. This information may be stored on paper or electronically on computer files by the practice staff.

We sometimes disclose some of your personal health information with other organisations involved in your care. For example, when your GP refers you to a specialist at the hospital we will send relevant details about you in the referral letter and receive information about you from them. Our practice also participates in regional and national programmes such as the cervical cytology screening service and your name, address, date of birth and health number will be given to them in order to send an invitation to you.

We need to use some of your personal health information for administrative purposes. In order to receive payment for services provided to you, we have to disclose basic details about you to the NHS board responsible for this area and to the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service.

These organisations have a role in protecting public funds, and we are authorised to check that payments are being properly made. We are required to co-operate with these checks and the disclosure of your data is a necessary part of our provision of healthcare services.

Sometimes, we may participate in studies that are designed to improve the way services are provided to you or to check that our performance meets required standards and benchmarks. Whenever we take part in activities such as these we will ensure that as far as possible any details that may identify you are not disclosed.

We are sometimes involved in health research and the teaching of student nurses, doctors and other health professionals. We will not use or disclose your personal health information for these purposes unless you have been informed beforehand and given your consent for us to do so.

Where you need a service jointly provided with a local authority we would seek your permission before giving them your details.

Sometimes we are required by law to pass on information eg the notification of births and deaths and certain diseases or crimes to the government is a legal requirement.

Our use of your personal health information is covered by a duty of confidentiality and is regulated by the Data Protection Act. The Data Protection Act gives you a number of rights in relation to how your personal information is used, including a right to access the information we hold about you.

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and adheres to a code of practice on protecting patient confidentiality. Further information on this can be found at www.nhsis.co.uk/confidentiality. Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential. If you have any queries or concerns on how we use your personal health information or would like to access your information please apply in writing to the practice manager.

Your Rights And Responsibilities As An NHS Patient

What Are Your Rights?
You have certain guaranteed rights as a patient of the NHS. It is important that you know these rights and use them. Glasgow Health Board have their published Patient Charter, which sets out your rights and the standard of service you should expect to receive locally.

To receive health care on the basis of clinical need, regardless of your income. Everyone has the same right to equal treatment by the NHS regardless of race, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation.

To be registered with a GP. Information about GPs in your area is available from Glasgow Health Board. You can ask for a practice leaflet from any GP practice. This will tell you about the practice and the services they offer and other relevant details.