Appointment
System The appointment system we currently have in place works as follows: A set amount of appointments become available every day for every doctor at the practice.
Appointments opened up are for a mixture of dates between one day and 2 weeks in advance. If you cannot see the doctor of your choice you will be offered an appointment with another doctor. Our patients will not be refused an appointment to be seen, but we cannot guarantee that we will always be able to offer you an appointment with the doctor of your choice.
Cancelling Appointments Please contact the surgery to cancel a previously made appointment, as this will allow the time slot to be freed for another patient. Missed appointments without cancellation waste valuable clinical time.
Change of Address or Telephone Number If you change your address or telephone number, please inform the receptionist as soon as possible Complaints Procedure Cwmbran Village Surgery operates an in-house complaints procedure. Many complaints can be resolved by an informal discussion with the Practice Manager. However we also operate a formal complaints procedure to deal with any comments, suggestions or complaints about the services we provide. The Practice Manager will give you further information and will ensure that issues are dealt with promptly and thoroughly. A full explanation of our complaints procedure can be obtained by speaking to Andrew Langley Practice Manager. Confidentiality All patient information will be treated in strict confidence. Access to all records will be limited to the people caring for the patient, including medical secretaries. Sometimes other professionals involved in patient care will need access to the notes, but this will only be done with the express permission of the doctor. We fully abide by the data protection act and Caldicott principals in the use of information. Written reports to non-medical people will need written permission from the patient. Patients have the right to see their records and should contact our Practice Manager – however, a small administrative fee has to be charged.
Disabled Patients There is wheelchair access in the surgery and also a toilet suitable for patient’s with disabilities. Other facilities that have recently been introduced, or are in process of been installed include; Tactile signs, audio visual patient call unit, hearing loop T-position, Wheelchair ramp, widened path to rear. Low level buzzer for assistance. Most of our team have attended RNID training sessions in respect of awareness of the requirements of deaf and hard of hearing patients. Our commitment is to continue updating our knowledge on improving our services to patients with a specific disability. We encourage patients who may find any issues in accessing the building or our team to let us know so we can work on making improvements.
The surgery has a list of private professional fees for work not carried out under General Medical services.
Home Visits Home visits should only be requested when absolutely necessary. One home visit takes 5 times as long as a surgery consultation and facilities at the surgery are better for examination and treatment. For urgent calls, please ring the surgery number. When closed, the answer machine will give an alternative number. Please endeavour to ring before 10.00am on the day that you require the call. The doctor will discuss the request with you. Map Click Here Medical Records You are legally entitled to see your medical records. Your employer or other representatives (e.g. solicitor, insurance, etc.) can ask us for a copy of the records or a report, if they have your written permission. A payment to cover the cost of copying the notes or producing the report would be required. In addition, health care professionals at the surgery who are not your doctor may occasionally check your records. These include medical students who are attached to the surgery for teaching and who you may see during your time at the practice. As part of our efforts to improve the quality of the service and medical care available to patients, we are also involved in a programme of audit and research. This may entail practice staff members checking records. These practices are in keeping with guidance from the Local Health Board Ethics Committee and the UK General Medical Council. Out Of Hours Cover During hours when the surgery is closed (6.30-8am and weekends), our patients are covered by deputising service Gwent Out of hours service (0845 ) 6001231. The surgery answer phone will give patients this information if ringing us. Information A Mar 07 |
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