Our Care Pledge to You: Ensuring a Positive Patient Experience

Hillingdon Community Health's overriding aim is to provide excellent care for patients. Making Hillingdon Community Health a positive and caring service is the responsibility of every one of our staff whatever our job position or department. 

View our care pledge here

We will:

• Be immediately welcoming, helpful and approachable.
• Introduce ourselves and address you in a professional, friendly manner.
• Treat you with courtesy and avoid having private conversations whilst you are waiting.
• Be respectful and not use language that may be offensive to you.
• Behave professionally with due regard to your safety at all times.
• Wear an identification badge that is visible and be well presented at all times.
• Endeavour to attend to your individual and cultural needs as well as your clinical needs.
• Support you to access information and to express your needs / preferences, which may include the use of interpreting services when required.
• Give you timely updates on your progress and involve you / your family as key partners in decisions about your care.
• Ensure that our staff are competent to undertake their duties.
• Work closely with colleagues so that everyone involved in your care is kept well informed.
• Listen actively with an open mind, not interrupting you or presuming that we know what you are going to say.
• Treat you as an individual taking account of any specific needs that may hinder effective communication.
• Anticipate and respond to carers / family questions and worries.
• Make a point of asking you how well we are attending to your needs.
• Make the maintenance of your privacy our priority.
• Afford you maximum possible choice and control over your treatment.
• Always explain and request permission before carrying out any procedures.
• Endeavour to identify other services and sources of support that may be helpful in meeting your wider health needs.
• Show friendliness and consideration at all times.
• Listen to the views of others.
• Ask patients / visitors how they wish to be addressed.
• Give patients our full attention.
• Make sure we have appropriate knowledge about a patient’s condition and care.
• Ensure patients, relatives and carers are aware and involved with patient’s care plan.
• Show respect to patients and colleagues alike.
• Ensure we maintain patients’ privacy and dignity.
• Dress appropriately with due regard to patient safety.

We will not:

• Use inappropriate expressions of endearment, such as ‘love’ or ‘dear’.
• Frown or be rude.
• Make you wait unnecessarily.
• Discuss patients care so others can hear.
• Walk into a room or behind a curtain without asking permission.
• Use inappropriate language.
• Use mobile phones in the workplace unless required for Trust work, or in an emergency.
• Shout or raise our voices, suck our teeth or roll our eyes.
• Wear inappropriate clothing, exposing bare midriff or cleavage, or clothing with inappropriate slogans, or shorts. 
• Chew gum.
• Talk over patients without explaining what is happening.
• Blame other departments when things go wrong.

When you telephone us, we will:

• Introduce ourselves, the department and ask how we can help you.
• Resolve your query immediately if this is possible, or we will call you back within an agreed time frame.

When you visit our services, we will:

• Be responsive, welcome you, introduce ourselves and ask how we can help.
• Explain which colleague will help you if we cannot ourselves.

What we ask of you. Please:

• Be polite and respectful to all our staff.
• Tell us about any changes that may affect your health.
• Tell us about any worries and concerns that may be impacting on your health.
• Be patient if you are asked to wait.
• Give us feedback and comments so we can learn and continue to make improvements.
• Let us know if you think we are not doing enough to prevent and control the spread of infection.

WHAT DOES EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY MEAN TO US?

The right for everyone to be treated equally, regardless of their age, disability, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation.

Hillingdon Community Health has a key interest in reducing health inequalities in Hillingdon this is rolled out through all our strategies and business plans. Achieving this can only be done by understanding the needs of all people living in Hillingdon and working hard to provide services that meet the needs of our community.

HCH/CNWL serves an extremely diverse population and has a workforce that is also extremely diverse. It therefore recognises its duties and responsibilities in meeting the Equalities and Diversity agenda not only from a legislative perspective, but in order to promote and sustain the constructive human relationships that underpin effective service delivery and management.

USEFUL LINKS AND INFORMATION

Our Committment

From this page you can access a range of documents and information about Equalities and Diversity initiatives within CNWL.

Easy Read - The Equality Delivery System for the NHS

The North West London Lesbian and Gay Group is a friendly group who welcome gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transpeople of all ages and backgrounds, contact to find out more: Tel:07941 707884, email: nwllgg@hotmail.co.uk or visit www.nwlgay.com.

How to Access Your Health Records

Your Rights

All patients have the legal right to request copies of their healthcare records.  In line with legal requirements a process has been has been drawn up to enable you to obtain copies of your healthcare records.

What will happen when you make a request

• When a request for access to health records is received the applicant will be asked to pay a fee before the request is processed.
• On receipt of the fee and supporting authorisation the request should be processed within 21 days if possible or latest within 40 days of payment.
• In exceptional circumstances if it is not possible to comply within the 40 day period the applicant will be informed.

Anyone requesting access to Medical Records will be required to:

• complete an appropriate consent form
• provide two proofs of identity
• provide the required fee

The consent form, proof of identity and fee must all be provided before the request can be processesed. The access to medical records officer will raise an invoice to request payment, this will be sent with an accompanying letter to the applicant.

Contact Details for Medical Records Officer