Practice Charter

• You will be treated with courtesy and respect by all Practice personnel. 
• An urgent appointment with a doctor or nurse practitioner will be available on the same day. 
• A non-urgent appointment with a doctor will be offered within 24 hours. 
• Our standard is to see 80% of patients within 20 minutes of their appointment time. If you have waited longer than this please ask a receptionist for an explanation. 
• We aim to answer the telephone within 6 rings. 
• An appointment with a practice nurse will be available within 3 working days. 
• Requests for repeat prescriptions will be dealt with within 48 hours except at weekends and bank holidays. Requests can be made in person, by post or fax and online. Housebound patients can telephone between 11:00 – 13:00 and 17:00 – 18:00. 
• All comments and suggestions about the service are welcome. Please use the box provided in the waiting area. 
• If you have a complaint please speak to any member of staff. Your complaint will be dealt with in a professional and efficient manner. 
• We wish to make the Sutton Road Surgery as accessible as possible. If you have hearing, physical or visual difficulties please let the receptionist know so that we can enable you to fully use our services.

Patient’s Responsibilities

• If you are unable to attend for an appointment please let us know so that we can offer it to someone else. 
• If you are late for your appointment you may be asked to book for another time. Try to let us know in advance if you are going to be unavoidably delayed so that we can make alternative arrangements for you. 
• A home visit should only be requested for those who are unable to come to the surgery because of serious illness or infirmity. Please ring the surgery between
  09:00 – 10:30 to request a home visit. 
• An urgent appointment is for an urgent medical problem. Please speak to the receptionist if you require a sick note or repeat prescription. 
• We would ask you to be patient if the doctor is running late. This is often due to unforeseeable emergencies but please ask a receptionist for an explanation. 
• Make a separate appointment for each patient that needs to be seen. This allows the doctor to treat each patient with the time that they deserve. 
• Please act in a responsible and courteous manner whilst on the premises for the safety and comfort of others. 
• Please treat all surgery staff, fellow patients, carers and visitors politely and with respect. Violence or verbal harassment will not be tolerated or accepted. You may be asked to register at another surgery if this behaviour occurs.