Patients' Rights & Responsibilities

The primary health care team is committed to work together to provide the patient with the highest standards of medical and non-medical care.

Our Commitment To You

• Patients have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect.
• Bognor Medical Practice will endeavour to run the practice efficiently with the doctors and the practice nurses running their surgeries at the appointed times. Should there be a delay due to a medical emergency, waiting patients will be advised and offered the choice of seeing another doctor or making another appointment.
• Patients' confidentiality will be upheld at all times.
• Patients have a right to information about their health, such as:

1. The nature of their illness and its treatment
2. Alternative forms of treatment
3. The likely outcome of the illness

• Patients have the right to see their own medical records upon written request and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.
• The practice will offer advice to patients on the promotion of good health and how to avoid illness, cessation of smoking, taking exercise, being immunised and self help.
• Patients with urgent medical conditions will be given priority and will normally be seen on the same day.
• Patients registering with the practice will be offered an entry medical with the health care assistant. This allows the practice to obtain details of patients' past medical histories whilst waiting for records to be received from the previous doctor.
• Bognor Medical Practice will welcome any suggestions or comments from patients which are intended to be constructive about the standard of service currently being offered.
• These should be addressed to the practice manager.
• Patients who have a complaint or concern about the service received from the doctors or any of the staff at the practice should address the complaint to the practice manager. Bognor Medical Practice operates a practice complaints procedure forming part of an NHS System for dealing with complaints which meets with national criteria.

Patients' Responsibilities

Your Commitment To The Practice

• Patients are expected to be courteous to the doctors and staff at all times and it should be remembered that the staff are operating to an agreed working practice as specified by the doctors.
• Patients are expected to attend for their appointments on time. If an appointment has to be cancelled, please telephone the receptionists as soon as possible so that the appointment can be offered to another patient.
• Patients must not expect the doctor to see more than one person at an appointment.
• Where another member of the family needs to be seen, another appointment must be made.
• Patients should consult with the doctor in the surgery wherever possible.
• Home visits will only be made when they can be justified on medical grounds.
• Patients requiring medical attention when the surgery is closed should contact the emergency doctor when in urgent medical need. Patients telephoning for a visit when the surgery is closed may be asked for a contact telephone number as well as the name and address of the patient.
• Patients are requested to keep the practice informed of any change of address, telephone number or name so that the medical records may be kept up to date. This information could prove crucial in an emergency situation.
• Doctors reserve their right to accept any patient onto their practice list or remove any patient from the practice list.