The Practice

• Provides a warm, comfortable atmosphere for you and a play area for the children;
• Offers car parking space for ease of access;
• Provides space for wheelchairs and pushchairs;
• Offers access for disabled persons, including toilet facilities;
• Is open between 8.00am and 6.30pm, with staff available to help you;
• Ensures that the doctors can be contacted by staff within this time, should an emergency arise;
• Arranges for most consultations with the doctor to be by appointment;
• Ensures that you receive appropriate treatment and advice for your condition;
• Guarantees patients with urgent problems, a consultation the same day;
• If you are seen as an emergency patient, you will be seen as quickly as possible though you will have to be prepared to wait your turn as a queuing system operates;
• Arranges for all staff to be identified with name badges;
• Ensures that literature on a wide variety of health and social matters is usually available. Frequently, literature in other languages is available, as is help with translation, if required;
• Assures you that all information about you is held in strictest confidence and that confidentiality will be maintained at all times;
• Produces repeat prescriptions within 48 hours (two working days) of the patient requesting it. Please note: It is the responsibility of the patient to order prescriptions 48 hours before they run out of medication. We cannot always produce prescriptions at short notice and it is important that patients place their order in good time;
• Ensures that nurses taking smear tests are fully trained. The results of smears are available by telephone; Provides a free health check when you first register with us and also if you are aged between 16 and 74 and haven’t seen a doctor over the past 3 years;
• Provides a practice booklet detailing services offered at the practice. This gives details of the practice telephone number (0121 558 2613).
• Ensures that telephone calls you make to the emergency line outside the normal surgery hours, including weekends, will be answered by an answering machine which will tell you the number to contact in an emergency;
• Gives telephone access to your doctor at appropriate times; Welcomes comments on the services provided. Any complaints will be dealt with promptly by our Services Manager who deals with the in-house complaints procedure.

As a patient, you can help us to continue the smooth running of the practice so that we can provide you with the best possible service. Please:

• Inform us of change of address promptly to ensure that any correspondence will reach you and that the doctors have up-to-date details when visiting;
• Should you be unable to keep your appointment, let us know as soon as possible, as unused appointments are quickly filled by sick patients needing urgent attention;
• Only request an urgent consultation if your illness requires urgent treatment;
• Only request a home visit if your condition prevents you from travelling to the surgery. Home visits require a large amount of the doctor’s time. Minor illness is better treated at the surgery, as most of the equipment is located there. Also, seriously sick patients cannot be seen urgently if there are a large number of home visits;
• Request home visits before 11.00am by ringing 0121 558 0871. Visits requested after this time may be delayed by a large number of other visits from late calls. You might not necessarily see the doctor of your choice. Only request urgent home visits or night visits if you feel your problem cannot wait until the next day.

Rights of Patients

As a patient you have the right to:

• Be registered with a named doctor
• Change doctor if desired (but please remember that you may have to see any of the doctors if your need is urgent)
• Receive emergency care
• Receive appropriate drugs and medicines
• Be referred for specialist or second opinion if they and GP agrees
• See your medical records or a copy, subject to certain laws
• Know that by law, everyone working for the NHS must keep the contents of your medical records private.