Your Health Rights
The Charter is currently under review and the GDPR legislation will be taken into account throughout the duration of the review.
The Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities – information for you explains what you can expect from the NHS, and what the NHS expects from you.
Personal Health Information
The How the NHS handles your personal health information leaflet explains how your personal health information is handled in line with the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018.
Access to Your Health Record
For more information, including how to access your Health Record, visit NHS Inform - Health Records.
Feedback and Complaints
Information about how to provide feedback or make a complaint can be found on our Feedback and Complaints page.
Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS)
The Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) is an independent service which provides free, accessible and confidential information, advice and support to patients, their carers and families about NHS healthcare.
Borders Independent Advocacy Service (BIAS)
It can be difficult to understand complex rules, or hard to get professionals to see your point of view. You may feel you are not getting the help you need or you may have concerns that the services you are getting are not good enough. You may end up feeling confused and that you have not been treated fairly.
Independent advocacy is a way to help people to have a stronger voice and to have as much control as possible over their own lives.
Borders Independent Advocacy Service (BIAS) can help you to get the information you need to make choices and support you to put your views across to others.
You can contact BIAS by emailing info@bordersadvocacy.org.uk or by phoning 01896 752200.
Patient Access Policy
The Patient Access Policy sets out the approach that NHS Borders will follow to book outpatient, day case, inpatient and diagnostic appointments and what patients can expect in terms of how much notice they can expect, the number and type of offers of appointment they can have. It also sets out what will happen when appointments are cancelled or patients do not attend at clinics or for treatment. It describes what patients can do when they are unhappy with the service that they receive.
Duty of Candour
All health and social care services in Scotland have a duty of candour as an organisation. This is a legal requirement which means that when unintended or unexpected events happen that result in death or harm as defined in the Act, the people affected understand what has happened, receive an apology, and that organisations learn how to improve for the future.
An important part of this duty is that we provide a Duty of Candour Annual Report about how the duty of candour is implemented in our services.
Duty of Candour Report 2022/2023
Duty of Candour Report 2021/2022
Duty of Candour Report 2020/2021
Duty of Candour Report 2019/2020
Duty of Candour Report 2018/2019