Practice charters: a survey in south and west Devon

A postal survey was conducted in 1995 in South and West Devon to explore the perceived value of practice charters; 79 (77%) of the practices surveyed had a charter and 24 (23%) did not. Three-quarters of responding practices with a charter felt that its effects were neither positive nor negative. Fears about charters raising patients' expectations and increasing the number of complaints appear to have been unfounded, but at least 14 of the practices were still not intending to produce their own charter.