Our Principal Quality Standards for General Medical Services.

As a minimum, our practice accommodation will be maintained to the standard necessary by NHS Regulations, Health Safety requirements and the recommendations of the Family Health Services Authority.

Appropriate facilities for disabled patients will be provided, including access to and within the building, including toilet areas.

No patient who is waiting to be seen should normally have to stand to wait.

Where patients are being seen via our appointments system they will normally be seen within 15 minutes of the appointment time or be given an appropriate explanation for the delay. This standard does not apply to our Cathedral Road branch surgery, where no appointment system operates, or to patients who are being seen at short notice for urgent reasons outside of our normal appointments system.

Repeat prescriptions are not renewed by telephone for reasons of safety and confidentiality. Requests for repeat prescriptions are accepted at any time and any requests received by 11.00am will be available for collection after 4.00 pm on the same day. Requests received after 11.00 am will not be available for collection until after 4.00 pm on the next normal working day. Remember, Saturday surgery is for emergency cases only.

Patients seeking advice between 18.00 and 08.30 will receive a clinically appropriate response from the doctor on call. Remember that this is an emergency service for conditions which are too serious to wait until the next working day. Always remember to leave a telephone number with the doctor's answering service.

Information in freely available to patients on the current range of services provided. Please enquire at reception.

Whenever possible, incoming telephone calls will be answered within one minute. At the busiest times (especially between 08.30 and 09.15) all lines may be engaged and patients are requested to leave non-urgent calls until later in the day.

The practice operates as a Primary Health Care Team and patients are encouraged to contact the practice nurse or health visitor directly, without reference to the doctor, when this is appropriate. The Team meets at least quarterly to discuss the range of services provided to practice patients.