It is helpful to know if you have a Carer (someone who takes on an unpaid caring role) or if you are a Carer for someone else. We have an established Carer's policy and a Carer's information pack available from Reception.

The consultation that takes place between a patient and their Doctor/Nurse is private and confidential. Quite often an examination is required to help make a diagnosis. This may be straightforward or sometimes can be more personal or of a sensitive nature.

Under these circumstances your Doctor will normally seek your agreement to a Nurse or other staff member being present or, if a relative or friend has accompanied you to the Surgery, they may be able to act as a Chaperone if you wish.

If a chaperone is not offered but you would like someone to be present, do not be afraid to tell your doctor.

Procedures which are generally regarded as being of a sensitive nature are:

• Cervical cytology
• Gynaecological
• Testicular
• Breast Examination
• Rectal Examination

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in the Practice, please let us know. We operate a Practice Complaints Procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Please be assured we take all concerns seriously and our complaints procedure meets the national criteria.

How to complain

We hope most problems can be sorted our easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible:  ideally, within a matter of days - because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have the details if your complaint:

• Within 12 months of the incident. You can do this by telephoning or emailing via the practice website or in writing to the practice.
• Written complaints should be either posted or handed in to Reception for the attention of the Practice Manager.  Telephone the Practice and leave your details for a Manager to contact you or via our EConsult online system where your concerns will be dealt with promptly and the complaints process explained.

You do also have the right to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman if you so wish for further investigation. The contact details are:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website

Alternatively you can complain to the NHS, see Feedback and complaints about NHS services.

The practice will provide within core hours, primary medical services required for the management of its registered patients and temporary residents, who are, or believe themselves to be, ill with conditions from which recovery is generally expected, terminally ill or suffering from chronic disease; delivered in the manner determined by the practice in discussion with the patient.

The practice will also provide primary medical services required within core hours for the immediately necessary treatment of any person requesting treatment owing to an accident or emergency at any place within its practice area.

The practice will include the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all registered patients and temporary residents, taking account of their specific needs including the provision of advice in connection with patients health, including relevant health promotion and the referral of other NHS services.

To improve the health and wellbeing of our patient population we are committed to provide a high quality standard of care within a safe environment.

All registered patients have the right to express a preference to receive services from a particular performer or class of performer, either generally or in relation to any particular condition; such preferences will be recorded by the practice.

The practice will endeavour to comply with any reasonable preference, but need not do so if the preferred performer has reasonable grounds for refusing to provide services to the patient or if the performer does not routinely perform the services in question within the practice.

Our Responsibilities

• We aim to promote good health and encourage prevention of disease.
• Our aim is to treat all our patients with respect and therefore we expect our patients to treat all our Staff in the same manner. 
• We will endeavour to maintain patients’ medical records up to date and will respect patients’ right of access to same.
• We offer Annual reviews on Medication, Asthma, Chronic Heart Disease (CHD), Diabetics, Mental Health and Learning disabilities.
• We offer clinics for ante/post-natal, child Immunisation, cervical smears, CHD, COPD, Diabetes, Asthmatic, Flu, travel advice including travel vaccinations.
• If any of our clinics need to be cancelled we will try wherever possible to give at least 24 hours notice.
• We will endeavour as a team to see you as close as possible to your allotted appointment time, however please bear in mind that there will be occasions when this is not possible.

How you can help us

• It is the patients’ responsibility to keep their appointments and to inform us as early as possible if unable to attend.
• Patients need to inform us of any past medical history, hospital admissions and any other details they feel relevant to be documented in their records.
• When making appointments please be aware that the doctors can only see one patient per consultation, if more than one patient i.e. family members needs to be seen a further appointment must be booked.
• Treatment facilities are better at the surgery please do not request a home visit unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Do not for any reason share your medication with anybody else.  In doing so this could prove to be dangerous.
• Accident and Emergency (A & E) visits and Out of hours services should only take place when urgent medical attention is required.  Out of hours services should not be used to gain a second opinion.
• If you should have any difficulties within the practice, the Operations Manager would appreciate if this is brought to her immediate attention.

Statement of Purpose for Hednesford Medical Practice.

The Practice has a strict zero tolerance policy in place to ensure that all our staff are protected from any form of abuse. 

Like many other GP Practices across the country, unfortunately we have now also encountered a recent increase in the amount of staff abuse, intimidation and threatening behaviour which is leaving our staff anxious and upset. This is NOT the kind of environment that we wish to work in. Staff members are being shouted at on a daily basis which is not acceptable. 

Whilst we understand that the patients who behave this way only represent a minority of people, we would like to highlight that any such behaviour will NOT be tolerated. 

Patients who are abusive towards staff will be sent a warning letter. If there is any further such behaviour, they will be deducted from the surgery and will be asked to register at another GP Practice.

We also recognise that our telephone lines are very busy every morning, and we appreciate that it is frustrating when there are no appointments available. However, we do not feel that these frustrations should result in the type of abuse that we are experiencing.     All calls are recorded.

We are trying to do our very best in challenging and unprecedented circumstances. 

If you wish to support the Practice further then please consider joining the Patient Participation Group (PPG) to see how you can help.

If you cannot find your NHS Number and you need it you can find it by using this link:

Find your NHS number - NHS