Visitors and relatives charter

The NHS Constitution brings together what staff, patients and the public can expect from the NHS. It also explains what relatives and visitors can do to help support the NHS, help it work effectively, minimise violence and aggression and help ensure that our resources are used effectively.

We have written our Visitors and Relatives Charter in the same way and in line with our Trust values, which represent the beliefs and core values of our staff and the Trust.

Some things that you can do for us, together with our commitment to you

• Respect the needs of other patients and families.
• We will ensure our treatment of patients does not impact on others as far as possible.

• Treat NHS staff and other patients and visitors with dignity and respect.
• We will treat all individuals with dignity and respect.

• Recognise that violence and aggression towards staff, patients and families is not tolerated and may lead to our Violence and Aggression at Work Policy being invoked and prosecution.
• We will seek to understand people’s priorities, needs abilities and limits. We will take your concerns seriously and ensure that the treatment of others does not impact on you as far as possible.

• Tell us if you wish some of your information not to be shared with other individuals / organisations as stated in Looking after your records.
• Where you ask for some information not to be shared with individuals / organisations we will discuss the consequences of not sharing the information with you. We will record your request in the patient’s notes and the outcome of the discussion.

• Respect the privacy of other patients, visitors and also our staff. You must consider others present and your environment before taking photographs or making recordings. If you wish others to be included ask if they are happy with this and respect their decision.
• Confidential information about service users or patients will be treated confidentially and respectfully. All staff are required to attend training on protecting the privacy of individuals on an annual basis.

• Ask staff for their permission before recording or photographing any medical practices, consultations or anything that could be part of a medical consultation. DO NOT go ahead unless permission is given. Anything in relation to how we work is a public record and may be accessible if requested in writing.
• We will try to accommodate your request where practical to do so and where staff don’t want to be recorded we will provide a copy of a patient’s clinical records to those who have parental responsibility or the patient themselves. This can be done by contacting our Access to Health Records Team.

• Please give feedback to us – both positive and negative. If your experience could have been better tell us.
• We will act on the information you give us to constantly improve the services and care we offer children and their families.

• Tell us if any patient details change, such as address, contact number, GP or if you feel some of the information we hold about you is inaccurate.
• We will keep the records that we hold up to date and record any changes you notify to us where appropriate.

• Give us accurate information to support the care of yourself or your relative so that we can choose the most appropriate treatment for them.
• We will listen to you and work with you to achieve an excellent experience. We will make sure the individual or any special needs are considered when planning and providing care.

• Recognise that the information we collect will be shared with those who have a direct involvement in the care of the patient.
• Members of our care teams will share confidential information when it is needed for the safe and effective care of an individual; we have a leaflet called “Looking after your records” which tells you how we use the information we collect and who we may share it with.

• Tell us if you wish some of your information should not be shared with other individuals / organisations as stated in the “Looking after your records” leaflet.
• Where you ask for some information not to be shared with individuals / organisations we will discuss the consequences of not sharing the information with you. We will record your request in the patient’s notes and the outcome of the discussion.

• Keep your hospital appointments or if you have to cancel, do so in good time so we can offer that appointment to another patient.
• We will keep any changes to your scheduled sessions to a minimum and accommodate you where we can. We will always give as much notice as we can to changes in your appointments.

• Recognise that we are a teaching hospital and understand that we may ask you if you are happy for students to be present during your care.
• We will always ask if you are happy for students to be present during your care and will respect your decision.

• When on our premises do not access or view either on the Trust Internet, or the Internet via other means, anything which could be considered offensive, inappropriate, or indecent.
• We will block access, by means of filtering systems on our network, as far as is practicably possible, to any material considered offensive, inappropriate, or indecent.

Please tell us information about your family:

• Language
• Ethnicity
• Religion and belief
• If you have a long term health condition
• How you would prefer to be communicated with

We will keep this information confidential and use it to help us improve your experience when visiting us.