Noticeboard

JUNIOR DOCTOR STRIKES: 3rd January 2024 - 9th January 2024

Local health services

If you need help from your GP or another member of the practice team over the above period, we are open every weekday from 8am until 6.30pm, except for bank holidays when we are closed. Please contact us if you have a health condition that needs checking or an illness that won't go away.

Junior doctors will be on strike from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Tuesday 9 January. This means that all NHS services, particularly hospitals, will be under severe strain. But please don’t put off seeking medical help if you need it. Here is a reminder of what local services are available:

  • The NHS websitenhs.uk has lots of advice to help you to look after yourself when you have minor symptoms. There is also information about what is a serious medical emergency.

  • If your child is feeling unwell, the Healthier Together website has advice about some common symptoms, how to look after your child at home and when to get further help.

  • Drop in to a pharmacy for health advice or information about your medicines. A pharmacist can help you to deal with a cough, cold and lots of other winter illnesses.
  • If you need help urgently, use NHS 111 online (www.111.nhs.uk) or call 111. Your symptoms will be assessed, and you will be given advice or an appointment to see a doctor or nurse if this is needed. NHS 111 can also send an ambulance and can book an appointment for you in some services like urgent treatment centres. Using 111 online means you won’t have to wait on the phone.  

  • If you are in a mental health crisis, call NHS 111 and get straight through to mental health help by selecting option 2.

  • You should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. Life-threatening emergencies are different for adults and children.

  • Do not visit anyone in a hospital or care home if you have recently had diarrhoea or vomiting. Stomach bugs are easily spread, make already ill people very seriously unwell, and can lead to whole hospital wards being closed. Please wait 48 hours after your last bout of sickness or diarrhoea before visiting anyone who is vulnerable.  

More information on these services and self-help advice can be found at: https://hertsandwestessexics.org.uk/help-us-help 

Statement of Purpose

OUR PRACTICE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Our aim is to provide the best possible health care for our patient population.

To ensure that the services are easily accessible, efficient and responsive to the needs of our patient population.

To maintain a pleasant, safe and efficient working environment for our patients, staff and other NHS Healthcare Agencies working within the practice.

To include all members of the team and our Patient Participation Group in decision making by encouraging teamwork and good communication.

Practice Charter

The surgery team aim to provide the best possible health care for our patient population. 

We will utilise the resources available to ensure that the services are easily accessible, efficient and responsive to the needs of our patients. 

About Your Rights 

As an NHS patient you are entitled:  

To receive general medical care from a GP on the basis of a clinical need and regardless of ability to pay. 

To change your doctor if you want, quickly and easily. 

To receive medical care services.

To be treated under the NHS by a GP if you are away from home.

To be treated by another GP in the practice if your own is not available.

To be offered a health check when first registering with a GP.

To have appropriate medicines and appliances prescribed when necessary.

To be referred to a consultant or specialist when your GP thinks necessary and be referred for a second specialist opinion if you and your doctor agree it is desirable. 

To be assured of confidentiality in all contacts with your GP and practice staff.

To receive, free of charge, certificates for statutory sick pay for illness lasting more than six days and other statutory certificates where appropriate.

To have clearly explained the diagnosis, proposed treatment, major risks and any alternatives.

To have access to your health records held on computer or hand written, subject to any limitations in the law.

To receive an up-to-date information booklet.

To choose whether or not to take part in medical research and medical student training.

To choose to be registered with a doctor who provides contraceptive and maternity services. A patient may choose her own or any doctor that provides these services.

Where appropriate, to receive invitations for cervical screening.

To receive appropriate childhood vaccinations and immunisations.

To receive an invitation for free breast screening if you are a woman aged between 50 and 64 years old.

To receive advice about health, diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol, drugs and solvent abuse.

To have a complaint about any NHS service investigated and to receive a full and prompt written reply from the Chief Executive of the relevant health authority.

To see any medical report written about you for the purposes of insurance or employment. 

What You Can Expect From Us 

You have a right to be treated with courtesy. We will respect your cultural, religious and moral beliefs. 

We will aim to see you within 20 minutes of your appointment time. When we are running late, there is usually a good explanation. 

We will aim to offer an appointment with a doctor within four working days. 

A doctor will always be available to assess more serious problems by telephone. They will decide to give advice, suggest a surgery or hospital attendance or arrange a home visit. 

You have a right to information about your health. You can bring a friend or relative to the consultation if you wish. 

You have a right to be referred to a consultant acceptable to you when your GP thinks it necessary. 

You have a right to complete confidentiality in matters relating to your health. 

You have a right to see your medical records written after November 1st 1991. This is at the discretion of the GP. It may be necessary to withhold certain information as it might be harmful to the patient. Under the items of the Data Protection Act, the practice is at liberty to charge a reasonable fee. 

We will deal with complaints promptly and objectively. Our aim would be to produce a positive outcome for all concerned.  

What We Expect From You 

Please be courteous and polite when dealing with members of the practice team. 

Please inform us if you cannot attend an appointment and please remember that an appointment should be for one person only. 

Do not assume that a consultation will result in a prescription or referral unless the doctor considers it clinically necessary. 

Home visits are for patients who are housebound or are too ill to attend the surgery. Requests for home visits should be made by 10:00 where possible. 

At nights and weekends GPs are on call for emergencies only. Please do not ring about something that could wait until the next surgery. If you do ring NHS 111, you can be given telephone advice or you can be offered a consultation where considered appropriate. 

Be prepared to wait 48 hours (two full working days) after requesting a repeat prescription. Do not ask the doctor to write out prescriptions that are obtainable via the computer. You should have a repeat prescription computer slip with your own personal number. 



 
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