Confidentiality

We provide a confidential service for young people in sexual and other health issues. This applies even if you are under 16.

You can be sure that anything you discuss with any member of this practice - family doctor, nurse or receptionist - will stay confidential.

If you would like more information about what we mean by ‘confidential' then please ask, we will be happy to explain.

Suggestions & Complaints

PRACTICE COMPLAINTS LEAFLET

Polkyth Surgery welcomes comments, compliments, concerns and complaints.  We always aim to provide the best care we can.  However, we know that sometimes things can go wrong.  When this happens we believe that is it often most effective to sort problems out quickly and informally.  Please talk to any member of staff if you have a problem or concern.  If you need impartial help or advice in resolving a problem the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) can help you. 

The NHS Complaints Procedure is a more formal way of resolving a concern.  We want to assure people that they can make a complaint without fear of their care being affected.  We believe it is important to understand why things go wrong so that we can prevent such things happening again.

There are two stages to the Complaints Procedure.  The first stage is called ‘Local Resolution’.  This is where we work with you to resolve your complaint.  If after this, you feel your complaint to be still unresolved you can progress to the second stage by approaching the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for an ‘Independent Review’. 

If you want to make a formal complaint, please contact the Practice Manager (Patient Services).  You can do this in writing, by phone or in person.  The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) can help you make a complaint if you wish. 

Please try to make your complaint as soon as possible. There are time limits; normally twelve months after the event you are complaining about (or became aware of the matter for complaint).  However, there are exceptions to this and we will always try to help as much as we can.

If you are making a complaint on behalf of another person, we may need to ask that person’s consent before investigating the complaint.

The Practice Manager will discuss with you how you would like your complaint resolved and how long this might take.  The person who investigates your complaint may need to talk to other staff and look at your medical records.  They will be careful to ensure that any information about you is kept confidential. Your complaint will not be recorded in your medical notes. 

We will acknowledge your complaint and how we have agreed to resolve it within 3 working days.  We will keep you informed of progress; letting you know of any delays in resolving your complaint.  We will usually advise you of the outcome by letter; however we are also happy to meet with you.  We will let you know the outcome of the investigation and of action taken as a result.  If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have handled your complaint, we would prefer you to tell us.  This means that we can discuss if there are any other ways of locally resolving your concerns.

If preferred, you may wish to copy your complaint to NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, who will be happy to monitor how we handle your complaint.  You may also contact them direct and they will forward your complaint to us.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Mrs Katrina Clemes

Practice Manager (Patient Services)

Polkyth Surgery

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

0845 170 8000

Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS)

1st Floor, 17 Dean Street , Liskeard , PL14 4AB

01579 345193

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Millbank Tower , Millbank, London , SW1P 4QP .

0345 015 4033

NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

Sedgemoor Centre, Priory Road , St Austell , PL25 5AS . 

YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES  

Our responsibilities to you:       

• You will be treated as an active participant in the care you receive, and your doctor will discuss your condition with you and explain the reasons for any treatment.       
• You will be treated with courtesy and respect.       
• We will visit you at home if you are too ill to come to or be brought to the surgery.       
• A doctor (provided by the out of hours service) will always be available to provide urgent care or urgent telephone advice outside normal surgery hours.       
•  We will try to arrange for you to see the doctor of your choice but if your appointment is urgent this may not be possible.       
• We will try to see you within 30 minutes of you’re appointment time and you will be offered an explanation if we find that we cannot do this.       
• We will respect your right to see your medical records both written and computerised.       
• Whenever possible we will give you at least 24hours notice of any surgery or clinic cancellation.       
• We will maintain appropriate medical records.       
• We will explain the main purpose of any drugs which are prescribed for you and will tell you about significant likely side-effects.       
• We will review your repeat medication at least once a year and if you wish to discuss any aspect of this, we will be pleased to do so.         

Your responsibilities to us:       

• Being a patient means that you have responsibilities too.       
• We expect you to treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect.       
• Please make one appointment per person. The doctor cannot see a whole family in one consultation.       
•  Please be punctual:  arriving late causes delay for other patients.  If we are running late, please remember that next time it could be you who needs extra time or your home visit which is causing the delay.       
• Please tell us promptly if you no longer need or cannot keep you’re appointment so that it can be offered to another patient and not wasted.      
• Please tell us immediately if you change your name, address, telephone number etc.       
• Please take your medicines as directed by the doctor, and if you choose to stop taking them please let the doctor know.       
• To reduce the possibility of error, repeat prescription requests will not be taken over the telephone.       
• You have the right to see any doctor in the practice or move to another practice at any time without giving a reason.  However, we hope that you will give us the opportunity to discuss any difficulties at an early stage.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how the decisions are made. From January 1st 2005 it will oblige the General Practice to respond to requests about information that it holds, and is recorded in any format and it will create a right of access to that information. These rights are subject to some exemptions, which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.

You can find detail of our Publication Scheme by clicking here.