We are committed to protecting your privacy. You can access our website without giving us any information about yourself. But sometimes we do need information to provide services that you request, and this statement of privacy explains data collection and use in those situations.

In general, you can visit our web site without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. However there may be occasions when you choose to give us personal information, for example, when you choose to contact us or request information from us. We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you.

We collect the personal data that you may volunteer while using our services. We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as public records or bodies, or private organisations. We do not collect or use personal data for any purpose other than that indicated below:

• To send you confirmation of requests that you have made to us
• To send you information when you request it.

We intend to protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information and we have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to do so. We ensure that your personal data will not be disclosed to State institutions and authorities except if required by law or other regulation.

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should be aware that we don’t have any control over the other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting these sites.

The NHS has a Central Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR).

What is the SCR?

The SCR is intended to support patient care in urgent and emergency care settings. The SCR will store a defined set of key patient data for every patient in England except those who elect not to have one. This data will make a summary record created from information held on GP clinical systems. This summary record will help in ensuring continuity of care across a variety of care settings.

What does it mean for patients and NHS staff?

A patient’s SCR will contain key health information including details of allergies, current prescriptions and bad reactions to medicines. Following the creation of this initial SCR, a patient and their doctor may add additional information to the patient’s SCR. This must only be added with the explicit consent of the patient.

The availability of SCRs will assist in improving the safety and quality of patient care, by providing authorised healthcare staff with, easier access to reliable information about the patient to help with treatment.

As the patient is treated they will be asked by staff if they can look at their SCR every time they need to. Not everyone involved in the patient’s care will be able to see all of their records. The amount of information staff can see will depend on their job. NHS staff who do not need to see information about the patient’s treatment will not be able to view it – for example, non clinical staff will not have access to clinical information unless it is necessary for them to do their job.

Pros & Cons

As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System.

For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System unless you actively opt out.

For further information visit the opt out form.

Below is a list of guidelines of what you can expect from our Practice and what the Practice can expect from you (the patient).

Patient Guidelines

This is what you should reasonably expect from the doctors and Staff at Ashton Medical Group.

• You will be treated as an individual and with courtesy and respect at all times, irrespective of your ethnic origin, religious belief, personal attributes etc.
• We will maintain your right to confidentiality at all times.
• We will strive to ensure you are seen within 30 minutes of your appointment time. Where this is not possible, you will be notified of the delay as soon as possible.
• You can see a doctor within 24 hours and a practice nurse within 48 hours if it is an emergency.
• Appointments can be made up to 4 weeks in advance.
• You have a right to a full explanation of your illness and any tests, investigations or consultations relating to that illness. You must tell us if you do not understand any explanation.
• When joining our practice you will be entitled to a free health check with the Health Care Assistant.
• You have the right to complain about our service, either verbally or written, to our practice manager when you will be guided through the complaints procedure.

Your doctor and staff at the practice reasonably expect from you as a patient: 

• You should always treat the doctors and staff with the same courtesy and respect that you would expect to be treated with.
• Be open and honest with the doctors and staff. The receptionists work on the doctors’ instructions when asking certain questions in order that they can deal with your request in accordance with the policies set out by the doctors.
• If you are unable to keep an appointment please cancel your appointment in good time to enable someone else to be seen in your place.
• Please respect the doctors’ time and that of other patients, the doctor can only treat one problem within a 10 minute appointment slot, if you feel you need more time, please ask for a double appointment at the time of booking.
• We work on an appointment basis, please respect this.
• Do not always expect a prescription each time you see a doctor, they are not always necessary.
• Repeat prescriptions should be collected after 10:00am, 48 hours after the request.
• Before asking for a home visit, think if it is really necessary, many times you can be seen much quicker if you can get down to the surgery. If you do need a visit, please ring before 10:00am and be prepared to answer the receptionist’s questions, which are part of our policy to help the doctor prioritise emergencies and routine.
• You should only request a visit out of hours in an emergency situation and not for any illness or problem that can wait until the surgery is next open.
• Always follow your doctors’ advice and take the full course of any medication prescribed to you.
• Chaperones can be present at your consultation at any time, please ask the doctor or nurse who will be happy to arrange this for you.

Violent, Abusive or Aggressive Patients

We operate a Zero Tolerance Policy and any patient who is violent, abusive or aggressive to any person working in this surgery will be warned, removed from the list or reported to the Police dependant on the nature of abuse.

If you require an interpreter to be present please give 3 days notice when making your appointment and we will try and arrange this.

Alternatively we can arrange to use Language Line during the Consultation which has access to over 170 languages.

Our legal basis for sharing data with NHS Digital

All GP practices in England are legally required to share data with NHS Digital for this purpose under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (2012 Act). More information about this requirement is contained in the data provision notice issued by NHS Digital to GP practices.

Under GDPR our legal basis for sharing this personal data with NHS Digital is Article 6(1)(c) – legal obligation. Our legal basis for sharing personal data relating to health, is Article 9(2)(g) – substantial public interest, for the purposes of NHS Digital exercising its statutory functions under the COVID-19 Direction.

The type of personal data we are sharing with NHS Digital

The data contains NHS Number, postcode, address, surname, forename, sex, ethnicity, date of birth and date of death for those patients. It will also include coded health data which is held in your GP record such as details of:

• diagnoses and findings
• medications and other prescribed items
• investigations, tests and results
• treatments and outcomes
• vaccinations and immunisations

We will not share details for any patient who has registered a Type 1 objection with the practice.  Where a Type 1 objection has been registered, we will not share your personal identifiable confidential information outside of the GP practice, except when it is being used for the purposes of your care and treatment or where there is a legal requirement to do so. Although there is a legal requirement to do so here, NHS Digital has agreed with the National Data Guardian, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to respect Type 1 objections.

How NHS Digital will use and share your data

NHS Digital has various legal powers to share data. It is also required to share data in certain circumstances set out in the COVID-19 Direction and to share confidential patient information to support the response under a legal notice issued to it by the Secretary of State under the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI Regulations).

Legal notices under the COPI Regulations have also been issued to other health and social care organisations requiring those organisations to process and share confidential patient information. Any information used or shared during the outbreak under these legal notices or the COPI Regulations will be limited to the period of the outbreak unless there is another legal basis for organisations to continue to use the information.

Data which is shared by NHS Digital will be subject to robust rules relating to privacy, security and confidentiality and only the minimum amount of data necessary will be shared. Organisations using your data will also need to have a clear legal basis to do so and will enter into a data sharing agreement with NHS Digital. Information about the data that NHS Digital shares, including who with and for what purpose will be published in the NHS Digital data release register.

For more information about how NHS Digital will use your data please see the NHS Digital Transparency Notice for GP Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19).

National Data Opt-Out

The application of the National Data Opt-Out to information shared by NHS Digital will be considered on a case by case basis and may or may not apply depending on the specific purposes for which the data is to be used.

Your rights over your personal data

Under the new General Data Protection Regulations we are required to explain how we use your information. Please see below which explain this in more detail:

How Ashton Medical Group uses your information to provide you with healthcare.

This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation. We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment.

We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.

• We will share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, your GP will share information when they refer you to a specialist in a hospital. Or your GP will send details about your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.
• For more information on how we share your information with organisations who are directly involved in your care can be found on  www.westpenninelmc.org.uk
• Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergic reactions. This will involve the use of your Summary Care Record. For more information see visit www.digital.nhs.uk or alternatively speak to your practice.
• You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please contact the practice if you wish to object. You also have the right to have any mistakes or errors corrected.

Other important information about how your information is used to provide you with healthcare:

Registering for NHS care

• All patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database.
• This database holds your name, address, date of birth and NHS Number but it does not hold information about the care you receive
• The database is held by NHS Digital, NHS England, a national organisation which has legal responsibilities to collect NHS data
• More information can be found at www.digital.nhs.uk or the phone number for general enquires at NHS Digital is 0300 303 5678

Identifying patients who might be at risk of certain diseases

• Your medical records will be searched by a computer programme so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to hospital
• This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible
• This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used
• Information which identifies you will only be seen by this practice
• More information can be found at contact the practice

Safeguarding

• Sometimes we need to share information so that other people, including healthcare staff, children or others with safeguarding needs, are protected from risk of harm
• These circumstances are rare
• We do not need your consent or agreement to do this
• Please see our local policies for more information: www.digital.nhs.uk

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information.

Data Controller: Jane Hill-West Pennine LMC

Data Protection Officer: Jane Hill- West Pennine LMC

Purpose of the processing:

• To give direct health or social care to individual patients
• For example, when a patient agrees to a referral for direct care, such as to a hospital, relevant information about the patient will be shared with the other healthcare staff to enable them to give appropriate advice, investigations, treatments and/or care
• To check and review the quality of care. (This is called audit and clinical governance)

Lawful basis for processing

These purposes are supported under the following sections of the GDPR:

• Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’; and
• Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…”

Healthcare staff will also respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence.

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

The data will be shared with:

• healthcare professionals and staff in this surgery
• local hospitals
• out of hours services
• diagnostic and treatment centres or other organisations involved in the provision of direct care to individual patients.
• Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group

Rights to object

• You have the right to object to information being shared between those who are providing you with direct care
• This may affect the care you receive – please contact the practice
• You are not able to object to your name, address and other demographic information being sent to NHS Digital
• This is necessary if you wish to be registered to receive NHS care
• You are not able to object when information is legitimately shared for safeguarding reasons
• In appropriate circumstances it is a legal and professional requirement to share information for safeguarding reasons
• This is to protect people from harm
• The information will be shared with the local safeguarding service

Right to access and correct

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected. Please speak to a member of staff or look at our ‘freedom of information’
• We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view.

Retention period

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at www.digital.nhs.uk or contact the practice.

Right to complain

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain visit this website www.ico.org.uk or call the helpline 0303 123 1113.

Data we get from other organisations

We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care.

For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service.

How your information is used for medical research and to measure the quality of care

Medical research

Ashton Medical Group shares information from medical records:

• to support medical research when the law allows us to do so, for example to learn more about why people get ill and what treatments might work best
• we will also use your medical records to carry out research within the practice

This is important because:

• the use of information from GP medical records is very useful in developing new treatments and medicines
• medical researchers use information from medical records to help answer important questions about illnesses and disease so that improvements can be made to the care and treatment patients receive

We share information with the following medical research organisations with your explicit consent or when the law allows: Tameside and Glossop Cinical Commissioning Group.

You have the right to object to your identifiable information being used or shared for medical research purposes. Please contact the practice if you wish to object.

Checking the quality of care – national clinical audits

Ashton Medical Group contributes to national clinical audits so that healthcare can be checked and reviewed.

• Information from medical records can help doctors and other healthcare workers measure and check the quality of care which is provided to you
• The results of the checks or audits can show where hospitals are doing well and where they need to improve
• The results of the checks or audits are used to recommend improvements to patient care
• Data is sent to NHS Digital a national body with legal responsibilities to collect data
• The data will include information about you, such as your NHS Number and date of birth and information about your health which is recorded in coded form – for example the code for diabetes or high blood pressure
• We will only share your information for national clinical audits or checking purposes when the law allows
• For more information about national clinical audits see the Healthcare Quality Improvements Partnership website: www.hqip.org.uk or call 0207 997 7370
• You have the right to object to your identifiable information being shared for national clinical audits. Please contact the practice if you wish to object

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we share your information for medical research purposes.

Data Controller:  Jane Hill-West Pennine LMC

Data Protection Officer: Jane Hill- West Pennine LMC

Purpose of the processing

Medical research and to check the quality of care which is given to patients (this is called national clinical audit).

Lawful basis for processing

The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can use medical records for research and to check the quality of care (national clinical audits)

• Article 6(1)(e) – ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’.

For medical research: there are two possible Article 9 conditions.

• Article 9(2)(a) – ‘the data subject has given explicit consent…’
• To check the quality of care (clinical audit): Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data:

• For medical research the data will be shared with Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group
• For national clinical audits which check the quality of care the data will be shared with NHS Digital.

Rights to object and the national data opt-out:

You have a right to object under the GDPR and the right to ‘opt-out’ under the national data opt-out model. The national data opt-out model provides an easy way for you to opt-out of:

• Information that identifies you being used or shared for medical research purposes and quality checking or audit purposes
• Please contact the practice if you wish to opt-out

Right to access and correct

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected
• We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view

Retention period

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at www.digital.nhs.uk or contact the practice.

Right to complain

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link www.ico.org.uk  or call the helpline 0303 123 1113.

How your information is shared so that this practice can meet legal requirements

The law requires Ashton Medical Group to share information from your medical records in certain circumstances. Information is shared so that the NHS or Public Health England can, for example:

• Plan and manage services
• Check that the care being provided is safe
• Prevent infectious diseases from spreading

We will share information with NHS Digital, the Care Quality Commission and local health protection team (or Public Health England) when the law requires us to do so. Please see below for more information.

We must also share your information if a court of law orders us to do so.

NHS Digital

• NHS Digital is a national body which has legal responsibilities to collect information about health and social care services
• It collects information from across the NHS in England and provides reports on how the NHS is performing. These reports help to plan and improve services to patients
• This practice must comply with the law and will send data to NHS Digital, for example, when it is told to do so by the Secretary of State for Health or NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012
• More information about NHS Digital and how it uses information can be found at: www.digital.nhs.uk

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

• The CQC regulates health and social care services to ensure that safe care is provided
• The law says that we must report certain serious events to the CQC, for example, when patient safety has been put at risk
• For more information about the CQC see: www.cqc.org.uk

Public Health

• The law requires us to share data for public health reasons, for example to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or other diseases which threaten the health of the population
• We will report the relevant information to local health protection team or Public Health England

For more information about Public Health England and disease reporting visit www.gov.uk

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information and our legal obligations to share data.

Data Controller: Jane Hill-West Pennine LMC

Data Protection Officer: Jane Hill-West Pennine LMC

Purpose of the processing: Compliance with legal obligations or court order.

Lawful basis for processing

The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can share information when the law tells us to.

• Article 6(1)(c) – ‘processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject…’
• Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

• The data will be shared with NHS Digital
• The data will be shared with the Care Quality Commission
• The data will be shared with our local health protection team or Public Health England
• The data will be shared with the court if ordered

Rights to object and the national data opt-out

There are very limited rights to object when the law requires information to be shared but government policy allows some rights of objection as set out below.

NHS Digital

• You have the right to object to information being shared with NHS Digital for reasons other than your own direct care.
• This is called a ‘Type 1’ objection – you can ask your practice to apply this code to your record.
• Please note: The ‘Type 1’ objection, however, will no longer be available after 2020.
• This means you will not be able to object to your data being shared with NHS Digital when it is legally required under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

To opt-out or to find out more about your opt-out choices please go to NHS Digital’s website.

Public health

• Legally information must be shared under public health legislation. This means that you are unable to object.

Care Quality Commission

• Legally information must be shared when the Care Quality Commission needs it for their regulatory functions. This means that you are unable to object.

Court order

• Your information must be shared if it ordered by a court. This means that you are unable to object.

Right to access and correct

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected.
• We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view.

Retention period

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at contact the practice.

Right to complain

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link 0303 123 1113.

Greater Manchester Care Record

Each health and care organisation in Greater Manchester collects information about you and keeps records about the care and services they have provided. The GM Care record pulls together the information from these different health and social care records and displays it in one combined record. For further information please see healthinnovationmanchester.com/the-gm-care-record-privacy.

National screening programmes

• The NHS provides national screening programmes so that certain diseases can be detected at an early stage
• These screening programmes include bowel cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, aortic aneurysms and a diabetic eye screening service
• The law allows us to share your contact information with Public Health England so that you can be invited to the relevant screening programme

More information can be found at: contact the practice.

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information in relation to our legal obligations to share data.

Data Controller: Dr Richard Fitton-West Pennine LMC

Data Protection Officer: Dr Richard Fittom-West Pennine LMC

Purpose of the processing

The NHS provides several national health screening programmes to detect diseases or conditions early such as cervical and breast cancer, aortic aneurysm and diabetes.

• The information is shared so that the correct people are invited for screening. This means those who are most at risk can be offered treatment

Lawful basis for processing

The following sections of the GDPR allow us to contact patients for screening:

• Article 6(1)(e) – ‘processing is necessary…in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller…’’
• Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

The data will be shared with NHS Digital/Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group.

Rights to object

For national screening programmes: you can opt so that you no longer receive an invitation to a screening programme.

Visit www.gov.uk or contact the practice.

Right to access and correct

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected
• We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view

Retention period

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records can be kept can be found at: www.digital.nhs.uk or contact the practice.

Right to complain

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link www.ico.org.uk or call the helpline 0303 123 1113.

Data we get from other organisations

We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service.

How the NHS and care services use your information

Ashton Medical Group is one of many organisations working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public)[1].

[1] This paragraph to be inserted by national organisations such as ALBs

Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:

• improving the quality and standards of care provided
• research into the development of new treatments
• preventing illness and diseases
• monitoring safety
• planning services

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.

Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

 

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.

To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit NHS Your Data Matters.  On this web page you will:

• See what is meant by confidential patient information
• Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
• Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
• Understand more about who uses the data
• Find out how your data is protected
• Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
• Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
• See the situations where the opt-out will not apply

You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:

NHS Info about patients (which covers health and care research); and Understanding Patient Data (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made).

You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

Health and care organisations have until 2020 to put systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care. Our organisation ‘is / is not currently’ compliant with the national data opt-out policy.[1] “

[1] It is recommended that this is included to be clear to patients whether your own organisation is currently compliant with the policy for applying national data opt-outs.

Greater Manchester Care Record

Each health and care organisation in Greater Manchester collects information about you and keeps records about the care and services they have provided. The GM Care record pulls together the information from these different health and social care records and displays it in one combined record. For further information please see GM Care Record Privacy

We adhere to high standards of confidentiality as laid down by the Health and Social Care Act 2001. We ask you for personal information so that you receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded in manual records and on computer.

We ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the team, it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the team.

Patients’ Rights And Responsibilities

Please try to keep your appointment. If for any reason you are unable to attend please contact the practice so we can cancel your appointment and offer it to someone else. You have the right to be treated with respect and dignity and we expect you to treat members of staff in the same manner.

Help Us To Help You

• Please arrange to see your doctor by appointment, whenever possible.
• Only request an urgent appointment if it is really necessary to be seen that day.
• Ask for a home visit only when impossible to come to the surgery.
• Use the correct and appropriate service for out of hours.

Chaperone Policy

The practice has a Chaperone Policy which is designed to protect both patients and staff from abuse or allegations of abuse and to assist patients to make an informed choice about their examinations and consultations.

A copy of the practice policy is available upon request. Posters informing patients of chaperones are located in reception and each consulting room in a number of languages.

Patients and Chaperones

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone formal or informal present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. An informal chaperone may be a family member or friend.

Formal Chaperone

On occasions, you may prefer a formal chaperone to be present, i.e. a trained member of staff. Wherever possible we would ask you to make this request at the time of booking so that arrangements can be made and your appointment is not delayed in any way.

Where this is not possible we will endeavour to provide a formal chaperone at the time of request. Your healthcare professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations in accordance with our chaperone policy.

Confidentiality

The chaperone will only be present for the examination itself, and most discussion with the patient should take place while the chaperone is not present.

Patients should be reassured that all practice staff act in accordance with a strict code of conduct relating to confidentiality.

If you require a chaperone to be present during your appointment please contact the practice in advance.

We strongly support the NHS policy on zero tolerance.

Anyone attending the surgery who abuses the GPs, staff or other patients be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the practice list.

In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the practice premises.

The charter informs you of what you can expect from your surgery and doctors, and, in return, your obligations as a patient to help ensure that these standards are maintained for you and other patients.

Appointment system

I can expect to be given an appointment to see a doctor or nurse on the day of request if I have an urgent problem; in this case there is no guarantee as to which doctor I can see and I may have a wait to be seen.

I can be informed of any delay, eg if a surgery is running late by asking a receptionist.

I will have the opportunity to consult another doctor, or be offered another appointment if preferred, if the doctor I have booked to see has to deal with an emergency, or is unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances.

If the doctor I wish to consult is not available on the day of my choice, then I will be offered an appointment with another doctor if available, or an alternative appointment with my chosen doctor.

Looking after my health

We place an emphasis on discussing with you ways of taking responsibility for maintaining your own health as far as possible and therefore:

• I can consult a doctor or nurse by appointment during routine surgery times to get advice about my general health
• I should receive an invitation to have a health check at the surgery if I have recently registered as a patient

Obtaining prescriptions

If I have a medical condition which requires a repeat prescription, it usually will be ready for collection in 48 hours.

Home visits

I can expect to receive a home visit if clinically necessary on the day of request, or on a subsequent day if appropriate. Requests should be made before 10.00am as far as possible. The doctor may call you to triage the request. There is no guarantee which doctor will visit me.

I understand that in the time it takes for the doctor to see one patient at home, he/she can see FIVE patients in the surgery, and so I must try to see the doctor in the surgery whenever possible.

My obligations as a patient

• I must make requests for repeat prescriptions in good time
• I accept that help and advice of non-urgent conditions should be dealt with during normal surgery hours
• I will respect advice on treatment, although I am free to reject the advice if, after consideration, I feel unable to accept it
• I should make every effort to be on time for appointments, and I should notify the practice in advance if I cannot keep the appointment or I if I am going to be late.
• I will not smoke in the surgery building
• I should treat all the staff at the practice with courtesy
• I understand that it is not the receptionist’s fault if the surgery is running late. This is usually due to patients having a problem which takes more time than usual to sort out, but sometimes due to patients turning up late and delaying other patients

Comments, suggestions and complaints

I can make a comment, suggestion or complaint by leaving a note with a receptionist.

When I visit the surgery

The surgery will be clean and well decorated, and I will endeavour to keep it this way for others.

My privacy and dignity will always be respected

The surgery will have facilities to help disabled people and for keeping children occupied.

I can always know to whom I am speaking when I telephone or visit the surgery.

My medical records

The practice team will keep my medical records confidential.

If I wish to see my medical records I must consult with the practice manager with a view to being informed about my rights under the Access to Health Records Act 1990.

As a patient I can expect

• To be registered with a doctor.
• To change doctors quickly and easily.
• To have emergency care available at all times.
• To have appropriate drugs and medicines prescribed.
• To be referred to an appropriate specialist acceptable to me when the doctor thinks it necessary and to be referred for a second opinion where I and the family practitioner agree that this is desirable.
• To receive a copy of the doctor’s booklet setting out the services the practice provides.