The Practice wish to provide an effective, high quality and caring service at all times. We aim to meet the health needs of you and your family and will endeavour to make the standards of service we provide absolutely clear to you, but in return, we expect you to treat your responsibilities as a patient seriously and do everything you can to help us.
The Standards We Aim to Provide for you are:
- Routine appointments should be available within 7 working days, where possible.
- Patients needing to be seen urgently should telephone the surgery, preferably before 9:00am. Your symptoms will be assessed and you will be given an appointment, or telephoned by the relevant healthcare professional. Please do not just turn up at surgery asking to be seen.
- When attending the surgery for your appointment, you will normally be seen within 10 minutes of your appointment time. If the surgery is running more than 15 minutes late you will be given an indication of how long you may have to wait and kept informed of the situation.
- The Doctor and members of our Nursing Team are available to speak to you by telephone if you wish. The receptionist will be able to advise you of an appropriate time to telephone, or can arrange for someone to contact you when they are available.
- Repeat Prescriptions will be available, once ordered, within 2 working days.
- New patients registering will be offered a registration appointment and free health check with one of our Nursing Team.
- All information regarding yourself and your treatment will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence by every member of the Practice Team.
- A private area can be provided should you wish to speak to a member of staff in confidence and a chaperone is always available to patients who would wish for one. Please ask the Doctor or Nurse.
- We will keep our Website up to date with staff changes, information and articles of interest to our patients.
- Should you have need to complain, we have a Complaints Procedure. Please ask to speak to the Deputy Practice Manager or the Practice Manager.
Patient Responsibilities:
As a patient of Victoria Medical Centre, you will be registered with either Dr Singh or Dr Saraf but you can see any GP in the Practice you wish.
We feel it is your responsibility to:
- Attend for your registration health check.
- Ensure children under 5 years attend for their childhood vaccinations and female patients between the ages of 25 and 65 attend to have a cervical smear every three years.
- Not to request an urgent appointment for routine prescriptions or sick notes.
- Only request Urgent appointments with the Doctor for an Urgent medical need. Please assist us by giving the reception staff an indication of your problem so we may help you best.
- Request a home visit for a housebound patient. Patients should attempt to attend surgery where physically possible. All house call requests will be triaged by our On Call Doctor, who will help assess your problem.
- Please notify the surgery of any change of your personal circumstances, eg name or address, or telephone number, plus e-mail address if you are happy to do so.
- Please contact the surgery if you are delayed, or unable to attend your appointment.
- Request one appointment for one patient only. It is not possible to ‘squeeze’ someone into your appointment slot. You should request a double appointment if you have more than one problem. Please discuss with the receptionist who will allocate an appropriate appointment time.
- Be aware that abuse, verbal or physical, or violent behaviour towards any of the Practice Team will not be tolerated and may result in patients being removed from the Practice List.
- Also be aware that abuse of medication will not be tolerated and may result in patients being asked to register with another GP Practice. The Practice does not prescribe any of the benzodiazepine group of medication, i.e. Diazepam, Temazepam, Zopiclone etc., unless instigated by hospital consultants or Drug and Alcohol Services, where clinically indicated.
- Please address any suggestions, complaints or compliments to our Practice Manager or Deputy Practice Manager, who will be happy to discuss any aspects of our service.