Rights & Responsibilities

Your rights

• We are committed to giving you the best possible service and are pleased you are registered with this practice.
• We will make every effort to make sure you know about the services we offer which directly affect your health.
• We will treat you politely and with respect at all times. The practice will respect any privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs of all our patients.
• You have the right to see your health records on request, in accordance with current legislation.
• We will never give information we hold about you to a third party without your consent.
• All our staff respect and understand your right to confidentiality within the law.
• We meet the standards of the NHS complaints procedure. If you are not happy with the service you receive from any of our staff, please contact the Complaints Manager, Fiona Greenbank. We will try to sort out your concern within the practice. If you are still not happy, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), at NHS Central Lancashire on 0800 032 24 24.
• We welcome your suggestions to improve our service. You can give us your views and suggestions by writing to Lorna Laflin, Practice Manager, at the surgery or email her on GPCCG.psm@nhs.net.

Your responsibilities

• Please be polite to the staff at all times (remember they are working under the doctors’ orders). We will not tolerate abuse. If your behaviour is deemed to be unsatisfactory, we may have to remove you from the practice list. We may also decline any requests to carry out non-contractual work.
• Please attend appointments on time or tell us in plenty of time if you want to cancel.
• Please remember that an appointment is for one person only. If another member of the family needs to be seen, or if you need to discuss their care, please make another appointment.
• You should only ask for a home visit if the patient is housebound or too ill to visit the surgery. The doctor will decide if a visit is needed and may offer you advice over the phone.
• Please only ask for an out-of-hours call (evenings, nights and weekends) if it is really necessary and cannot wait until the surgery re-opens. The out-of-hours service is recharged to the practice.
• Please do not expect a prescription with every consultation. Doctors will only prescribe antibiotics or other medicines if they will help your medical condition.