Patients Charter

PATIENTS’ RIGHTS TO GENERAL MEDICAL SERVICES

Patients have the right to:

  • Be registered with a General Practitioner
  • Be offered a health check on joining the Practice
  • Receive emergency care at any time from the practice
  • Receive appropriate drugs and medicines
  • Be referred for a specialist opinion where appropriate
  • Have the right to review their medical records subject to the provision of the Access to Medical Records Act 1990
  • Choose whether to take part in medical student training
  • Receive a copy of the Practice leaflet setting out the services that the Practice offers
  • Receive a full and prompt reply to any complaints about the services provided by the Practice.

Freedom of Information

The Practice will comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and sees it as an opportunity to enhance public trust and confidence in the Practice.

All FOI requests need to be made in writing to the practice manager with a reason for requesting the information.

All FOI requests will be charged at the agreed practice rate and paid by the person requesting the information prior to it being disclosed.

The Practice will seek to satisfy all FOI requests promptly and within 20 working days. However, if necessary we will extend this timescale to give full consideration to a Public Interest test. If we do not expect to meet the deadline, we will inform the requester as soon as possible of the reasons for the delay and when we expect to have made a decision.

The Practice will continue to protect the personal data entrusted to us, by disclosing it only in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Practice will provide advice and assistance to requesters to facilitate their use of FOI. We will publish our procedures and assist requesters to clarify their requests so that they can obtain the information that they require.

The Practice will work with the West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group (WSCCG) , the Strategic Health Authority and other bodies with whom we work to ensure that we can meet our FOI obligations, including the disclosure of any information that they hold on our behalf.

The Practice will apply the exemptions provided in the FoI Act and, where qualified exemptions exist, the Practice will disclose the information unless the balance of public interest lies in withholding it.

The Practice will consult with third parties before disclosing information that could affect their rights and interests. However, according to the FOI Act, the Practice must take the final decision on disclosure.

The Practice will charge for information requests in line with the FOI Fees Regulations or other applicable regulations, including the Data Protection Act 1998.