Fair Use Policy

Derby Medical Centre – Fair Use Policy

This Fair Use Policy has been created by the Derby Medical Centre team to support fair access to our online consultation platform, telephone lines, appointments, and other practice resources.

Please read this carefully and contact the practice if you have any questions.

Our Commitment to You

We are committed to ensuring that all patients have fair and equal access to our clinical and administrative teams, so we can deliver the best possible care.
We will always:

• Treat all patients with dignity, respect, and without discrimination.

• Provide a friendly, personal and confidential service.

• Keep you informed about our services, your rights, and any information relevant to your care.

• Offer appointments and support based on clinical need.

• Continually review and improve our systems to use resources efficiently.

• Provide a confidential practice complaints process.

• Welcome all feedback that helps us improve.

Using Our Services Fairly

To ensure fair access for everyone, we ask all patients to use our online consultation platform, telephone system and appointments responsibly and respectfully.

Unfair or excessive use of these services may prevent other patients from getting the help they need.

Examples of unfair use include (but are not limited to):

• Submitting an unusually high number of online consultations or appointment requests.

• Repeatedly sending the same request within a short time frame.

• Any form of abuse, aggression or harassment towards staff.

• Behaviours that significantly disrupt our ability to provide safe and timely care.

If such behaviour affects our services, we may review your access to online consultations, telephone services or appointments. You will always be informed and given the opportunity to discuss any concerns before action is taken.

In rare cases, behaviour that breaches the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy or causes an irreparable breakdown in trust may lead to removal from our practice list.

Help Us to Help You

To support fair access and help us run efficiently, please:

• Submit one online consultation per issue, including as much detail as possible. Duplicate submissions do not lead to a quicker response.

• Attend appointments or cancel them in plenty of time.

• Be patient if there are delays-these can occur if another patient needs urgent attention.

• Understand that non-urgent or routine issues may not be addressed immediately.

• Use self-care, your local pharmacy, NHS 111 or other services where appropriate.

• Be open to seeing the most appropriate healthcare professional-not all issues require a GP.

• Allow at least 72 hours for prescription requests and avoid pressuring staff to shorten this timeframe.

• Keep your contact details up to date.

• Treat all staff with respect-verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated.

• Request home visits only when you are too unwell or physically unable to attend the surgery. All home visit requests will be triaged by phone and may not always be deemed necessary.

When the Doctor–Patient Relationship Breaks Down

Sometimes, despite our efforts, a patient’s behaviour may consistently fall outside what is considered reasonable. This can lead to a breakdown in the doctor-patient relationship.

If concerns arise, we will:

1. Inform you verbally or in writing that there is a problem.

2. Explain our concerns clearly.

3. Listen to your perspective.

4. Agree expectations or an access plan if needed.

5. Monitor the situation; if issues continue, we may begin the process for you to register with another practice.

Within the Practice we will:

• Inform relevant members of the practice team.

• Discuss the situation, including any factors that may be contributing to the behaviour.

If the issue cannot be resolved:

• We will notify the Patient Registration Department at Primary Care Support England of our decision and the reasons for it.

• Where appropriate, we will write to you explaining the decision and the reasons for removal.

• We will ensure you are not left without a GP and provide guidance on how to register with another practice, including expected timelines.