Confidentiality

All employees of the practice have a legal duty to keep your medical information confidential, and anyone receiving that information from us is bound by the same legal duty. If you are receiving care from others, within or outside of the NHS, we may need to share information to enable us to all work together for your benefit. The sharing of information is strictly controlled by law, so unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the safety of others is at risk, we will not disclose your information to third parties without your permission. We will only give out information to your relatives, friends, or carers with your permission in writing.

Sometimes the law does require us to report certain information to appropriate authorities eg. Notification of a birth, or when necessary to protect the safety of the public, and in paricular with regard to child prtection issues.

Under 16’s – Young people under 16 can choose to see health professionals without informing their parents or carers. These young people have the same right to confidentiality. If a GP considers that a young person is competent to make decisions about their health, the GP can give advice, prescribe and treat the young person without seeking further consent. However health professionals will encourage young people to discuss issues with a parent or carer. Sometimes the law requires us to report certain information to appropriate authorities to protect young people or members of the public.

Access to Health Records – Personal Access
The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to view or have a copy of any personal information held in your medical records, both manual and computerised, with the consent from the appropriate healthcare professional responsible for your care. If you wish to view your records please write to the Practice Manager. Your doctor or appropriate health professional most recently responsible for your care will be informed for consent to disclosure. A health professional will accompany you while you view your record and you are not allowed to take any notes or copies. There will probably be a charge for this of £10. If you want a copy of any part of your medical records please forward a written request to the Practice Manager, and your doctor or relevant health professional will be consulted for consent to disclosure. There will be a charge for which you will be notified before a copy is produced, from £10 up to a maximum of £50.

Third Party Access – If you give written consent for a third party, such as a solicitor or insurance company to see any part of your medical records, they will need to apply in writing to the practice. Payment will be requested before any records are released.

Freedom of Information Act 2000
The surgery complies with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The surgery publication scheme is available on request from reception and details information on the surgery that is available publicly and how to obtain it. Some information may incur a charge and this is also made clear in the scheme.

Appointments should be made with your usual Doctor where possible. Staying with the same Doctor will improve continuity of care. If you move outside of the practice boundary, or are already outside of the boundary, we will need to ask you to register with a more local GP. All GP’s are advised to retain patients only within their own practice area, and this also enables us to provide a good service to those locally.

We ask you to keep your appointment, or cancel well in advance if you are unable to attend. Appointments are heavily booked and missed appointments waste time and prevent more urgent patients receiving appointments. This in turn creates more emergencies.

The practice, in line with government guidelines, undertakes a Zero Tolerance to violent or abusive behaviour whether verbal or otherwise to any member of the staff, doctors, or the general public on the practice premises, or outside. If this occurs, you will, depending on the severity of the situation, receive a written or verbal warning, or you may be asked to leave the practice list immediately, or the police may be called to the premises.

YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

PRACTICE RESPONSIBILITES

• You will be able to see a Doctor within 48 hours and a Healthcare Professional within 24 hours
• Repeat prescriptions will be ready to collect within 48 hours unless there is a specific reason which will then be explained
• You will be treated as a partner in your care and will receive courtesy, respect, and confidentiality
• We will try to answer the telephone promptly and courteously
• We will try to see you within 20 minutes of your appointment time, or you will be offered an explanation or another appointment. If your appointment needs to be cancelled we will try to give 24 hours notice
• We will maintain your medical records and maintain confidentiality
• You will be informed about out of hours provision and whom to contact in an emergency
• You will receive a home visit if you are housebound and the doctor considers the visit to be necessary
• You will be entitled to a practice leaflet informing you of our services and how to obtain services and information
• You have a right to ask to see your medical records. There will be a charge for copies
• Charges will be made for work considered to be private or non NHS work

PATIENTS RESPONSIBILITIES

• Please keep your appointment or cancel well in advance for that appointment to be able to be used. Remember some appointments if they are of a longer time will prolong the time others may have to wait to be booked
• We ask you to be courteous and respect our staff and other members of the public If your prescription is due for review, or you have been asked to see the doctor or the practice nurse of other health professional, please make a suitable appointment informing reception of any special requirements
• Please attend your appointment on time, late attendances over 10 minutes will be re-appointed
• Remember that we have a policy of zero tolerance to violence or abuse both verbal or otherwise.
• Please remember the doctor of your choice may not always be available but you may be offered an appropriate appointment with another doctor or healthcare professional
• Please use the allotted telephone numbers for specific requirements as requested to allow others to get through correctly
• Please be patient with us when we are busy, we will try to help everyone as soon as possible
• Please inform the practice of any change in your address or telephone number, and please provide us with a contact number
• Please request home visits or urgent appointments as early as possible in the morning

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Violence Statement

The practice considers aggressive behaviour to be any personal, abusive and/or aggressive comments, cursing and/or swearing, physical contact and/or aggressive gestures.

The practice will request the removal of any patient from the practice list who is aggressive or abusive towards a doctor, member of staff, other patient, or who damages property.

All instances of actual physical abuse on any doctor or member of staff, by a patient or their relatives will be reported to the police as an assault.

PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)

The NHS employs over a million staff in thousands of locations. It is a large and complex organisation providing a broad range of services. It is not surprising that sometimes you or a loved one may feel bewildered or concerned when using the NHS. And this can be at times when you are feeling at your most vulnerable and anxious.

So, what should you do if you want on the spot help when using the health service? The NHS expects all members of staff to listen and respond to you to the best of their ability. But sometimes, you may wish to talk to someone employed especially to help you. The Patient Advice and Liaison Service, known as PALS, has been introduced to ensure that the NHS listens to patients, their relatives, carers and friends, and answers their questions and resolves their concerns as quickly as possible.

PALS also helps the NHS to improve services by listening to what matters to patients and their loved ones and making changes, when appropriate.

What does PALS do?

In particular, PALS will:

• Provide you with information about the NHS and help you with any other health-related enquiry
• Help resolve concerns or problems when you are using the NHS
• Provide information about the NHS complaints procedure and how to get independent help if you decide you may want to make a complaint
• Provide you with information and help introduce you to agencies and support groups outside the NHS
• Inform you about how you can get more involved in your own healthcare and the NHS locally
• Improve the NHS by listening to your concerns, suggestions and experiences and ensuring that people who design and manage services are aware of the issues you raise
• Provide an early warning system for NHS Trusts and monitoring bodies by identifying problems or gaps in services and reporting them.

Find out more
If you would like more information about PALS, the functions it is intended to provide and the standards it should strive to achieve , follow this link.