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Our Policies

Policies

Our staff are committed to providing quality healthcare for the benefit of all of our patients. View our policies to see how this is achieved:

How the NHS and care services use your information-National data Opt Out Policy March 2020

Marylebone Health Centre is one of many organisations working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public.

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 www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-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:

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/ (which covers health and care research); and

https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (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 currently’ compliant with the national data opt-out policy.[1] “

 Note: A child is able to set their own opt-out from age 13,  and those who lack capacity and are not able to set an opt-out themselves.  In these cases, individuals who have a formal, legal relationship to act on behalf of them

Please Click here for Further Information and Opt Out form

Recruitment Privacy Notice

All personal information collected and collated during our recruitment processes is managed in line with our practice privacy, GDPR and data protection policies. Information sent to us is held in line with best practice, in a secure and confidential way, during the recruitment process only after which time it is destroyed in line with NHS guidance.

Please refer to practice GDPR policy.

Patient knows best

Care Information Exchange (CIE). CIE is being used to support integrated care in the north west London region.

It offers patients and health and care professionals involved in their care access to their clinic/discharge summary letters, details of their inpatient activity, appointments, blood test results, and radiology reports.

CIE has information for patients that were referred to Hillingdon or London North West acute trusts as well as the other two NW London acute trusts.

Patients Know Best is the patient facing system which is supported by CIE.

 

How can patients get access?

Patients can register for access to their Care Information Exchange record via the NHS app. More information can be found on the Care Information Exchange website.

In order to support your care, NHS healthcare professionals maintain records about you. We take great care to ensure your information is kept securely and used appropriately. Our staff are fully trained to understand their legal and professional obligations to protect your information.

Housing/Benefit Letters

The Marylebone Health Centre is committed to supporting our patients.  All requests for letters for benefits, council or any third parties will only be considered for completion if the request is made formally from the third party, councils or the benefit office themselves. Each request received would need to be accompanied by a patients written consent. Each request incurs a fee as this is not work required to be done under NHS care provision. This report will take up to 28 days to be completed and returned to the requestor.

Housing support letters are not required to support a housing application. If the council would like information about your health status they will write to us directly. We will not provide letters of any kind to support housing needs/concerns. Letters from medical professionals are not taken into account by housing/council offices unless they ask for them directly.  Applicants are expected to complete a self assessment form. There is no exception to this policy.

The Surgery prides itself in maintaining professional standards. For certain examinations during consultations an impartial observer (a “Chaperone”) will be required.

This impartial observer will be a practice Nurse or Health Care Assistant who is familiar with the procedure and be available to reassure and raise any concerns on your behalf. If a nurse in unavailable at the time of your consultation then your examination may be re-scheduled for another time.

You are free to decline any examination or chose an alternative examiner or chaperone. You may also request a chaperone for any examination or consultation if one is not offered to you. The GP may not undertake an examination if a chaperone is declined.

The role of a Chaperone:

    • Maintains professional boundaries during intimate examinations.
    • Acknowledges a patient’s vulnerability.
    • Provides emotional comfort and reassurance.
    • Assists in the examination.
    • Assists with undressing patients, if required.

The practice complies with the Data Protection Act.  All information about patients is confidential: from the most sensitive diagnosis, to the fact of having visited the surgery or being registered at the Practice. All patients can expect that their personal information will not be disclosed without their permission except in the most exceptional of circumstances, when somebody is at grave risk of serious harm.

All members of the primary health care team (from reception to doctors) in the course of their duties will have access to your medical records. They all adhere to the highest standards of maintaining confidentiality.

As our reception area is a little public, if you wish to discuss something of a confidential nature please mention it to one of the receptionists who will make arrangements for you to have the necessary privacy.

Under 16s

The duty of confidentiality owed to a person under 16 is as great as the duty owed to any other person. Young people aged under 16 years can choose to see health professionals, without informing their parents or carers. If a GP considers that the young person is competent to make decisions about their health, then the GP can give advice, prescribe and treat the young person without seeking further consent.

However, in terms of good practice, health professionals will encourage young people to discuss issues with a parent or carer. As with older people, sometimes the law requires us to report information to appropriate authorities in order to protect young people or members of the public.

Useful Websites

Police – Emergency: 999 / Non-Emergency: 101

– Adult Support Services / Safeguarding Adult: 020 8753 4198 – Option 3

– Adult Support Services (out of hours) / Adult Protection Officer: 020 8748 8588

– Community Mental Health – Claybrook Centre: 020 7386 1348 / Glenthorne Road: 020 8483 1979 / 24-hour Crisis Helpline: 0300 1234 244

– Age Concern: 020 7386 9085

– Social Services: 0845 313 3935

– MIND Hammersmith and Fulham: 020 7471 0580

– Drug Misuse: 020 3315 6111

– Medical Defence Organisation: MDU – Via doctor/nurse or management membership details

– NHS England / North West London Area Team: 020 7322 3700

See more advice on what to do if you think someone is at risk of abuse on the People First website.

Our Policies

If you have any special needs please let our staff know so that we can help and ensure you get the same support in the future.

Wheelchair access

The Surgery has been specially designed to make it easier for disabled patients to visit. There are no steps at the entrance of the building giving patients easy access. Due to fire regulations, we do have heavy fire doors, however if you have trouble opening these please ask Reception for assistance as they are always happy to help.

There are several dedicated disabled car parking spaces available immediately outside the front entrance of The Surgery.

We have a wheelchair for patient’s use, at their own risk, should you require one whilst visiting our premises.

We have two disabled toilets one on each floor.

Disabled Parking – Blue Badge Scheme

The Blue Badge scheme is for people with severe mobility problems. It allows Blue Badge holders to park close to where they need to go.

Loop System

We have a loop induction system at the reception desk to assist the hearing impaired. For more information on the loop hearing system visit Hearing Link website.

 

Blind/Partially Sighted

If you or family members are blind or partially sighted we can give you a CD or large print of our practice leaflet upon request. Please ask Reception for further information.

For more advice and support for blind people please see the following websites:

Guide Dogs

Guide dogs are welcome at the surgery but we ask that you be aware of other patients and staff who may have an allergy or fear of dogs.

Further Information:

Other Disability Websites

The Freedom of Information Act creates a right of access to recorded information and obliges a public authority to:

    • Have a publication scheme in place
    • Allow public access to information held by public authorities.

The Act covers any recorded organisational information such as reports, policies or strategies, that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland, however it does not cover personal information such as patient records which are covered by the Data Protection Act.

Public authorities include government departments, local authorities, the NHS, state schools and police forces.

The Act is enforced by the Information Commissioner who regulates both the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act.

The Surgery publication scheme

A publication scheme requires an authority to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities. The scheme lists information under seven broad classes, which are:

    • who we are and what we do
    • what we spend and how we spend it
    • what our priorities are and how we are doing it
    • how we make decisions
    • our policies and procedures
    • lists and registers
    • the services we offer

You can request our publication scheme leaflet at the surgery.

Who can request information?

Under the Act, any individual, anywhere in the world, is able to make a request to a practice for information. An applicant is entitled to be informed in writing, by the practice, whether the practice holds information of the description specified in the request and if that is the case, have the information communicated to him. An individual can request information, regardless of whether he/she is the subject of the information or affected by its use. 

How should requests be made?

Requests must:

    • be made in writing (this can be electronically e.g. email/fax)
    • state the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence
    • describe the information requested.

What cannot be requested?

Personal data about staff and patients covered under Data Protection Act.

For more information see these websites:

We aim to keep our surgery clean and tidy and offer a safe environment to our patients and staff. We are proud of our modern, purpose built Practice and endeavour to keep it clean and well maintained at all times.

If you have any concerns about cleanliness or infection control, please report these to our Reception staff.

Our GPs and nursing staff follow our Infection Control Policy to ensure the care we deliver and the equipment we use is safe.

We take additional measures to ensure we maintain the highest standards:

  • Encourage staff and patients to raise any issues or report any incidents relating to cleanliness and infection control.  We can discuss these and identify improvements we can make to avoid any future problems.
  • Carry out an annual infection control audit to make sure our infection control procedures are working.
  • Provide annual staff updates and training on cleanliness and infection control
  • Review our policies and procedures to make sure they are adequate and meet national guidance.
  • Maintain the premises and equipment to a high standard within the available financial resources and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to reduce or remove all infection risk.
  • Use washable or disposable materials for items such as couch rolls, modesty curtains, floor coverings, towels etc., and ensure that these are laundered, cleaned or changed frequently to minimise risk of infection.
  • Make Alcohol Hand Rub Gel available throughout the building

Your information, what you need to know

This privacy notice explains why we collect information about you, how that information may be used, how we keep it safe and confidential and what your rights are in relation to this.

Why we collect information about you

Health care professionals who provide you with care are required by law to maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received within any NHS organisation. These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare and help us to protect your safety.

We collect and hold data for providing healthcare services to our patients and running our organisation which includes monitoring the quality of care that we provide. In carrying out this role we may collect information about you which helps us respond to your queries or secure specialist services. We may keep your information in written form and/or in digital form.

The records may include basic details about you, such as your name and address. They may also contain more sensitive information about your health and also information such as outcomes of needs assessments.

Details we collect about you

The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. from Hospitals, GP Surgeries, A&E, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.

Records which this GP Practice may hold about you include the following:

    • Details about you, such as your address and next of kin
    • Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments,
    • Notes and reports about your health
    • Details about your treatment and care
    • Results of investigations, such as laboratory tests, x-rays,
    • Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or your carers

How we keep your information confidential and safe

Everyone working for our organisation is subject to the Common Law Duty of Confidence. Information provided in confidence will only be used for the purposes advised with consent given by the patient, unless there are other circumstances covered by the law. The NHS Digital Code of Practice on Confidential Information applies to all NHS staff and they are required to protect your information, inform you of how your information will be used, and allow you to decide if and how your information can be shared. All our staff are expected to make sure information is kept confidential and receive regular training on how to do this.

The health records we use may be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Your records are backed up securely in line with NHS standard procedures. We ensure that the information we hold is kept in secure locations, is protected by appropriate security and access is restricted to authorised personnel.

We also make sure external data processors that support us are legally and contractually bound to operate and prove security arrangements are in place where data that could or does identify a person are processed.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:

    • Data Protection Act 2018
    • Human Rights Act
    • Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
    • NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Information Security
    • Health and Social Care Act 2015
    • And all applicable legislation

We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if we reasonably believe that others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (such as a risk of serious harm to yourself or others) or where the law requires information to be passed on.

How we use your information

Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare organisations for providing you, your family and your community with better care. For example, it is possible for healthcare professionals in other services to access your record with your permission when the practice is closed. This is explained further in the Local Information Sharing section below.

Under the powers of the Health and Social Care Act 2015, NHS Digital can request personal confidential data from GP Practices without seeking patient consent for a number of specific purposes, which are set out in law. These purposes are explained below.

You may choose to withdraw your consent to personal data being shared for these purposes. When we are about to participate in a new data-sharing project we aim to display prominent notices in the Practice and on our website four weeks before the scheme is due to start.

Instructions will be provided to explain what you have to do to ‘opt-out’ of the new scheme. Please be aware that it may not be possible to opt out of one scheme and not others, so you may have to opt out of all the schemes if you do not wish your data to be shared.

You can object to your personal information being shared with other healthcare providers but should be aware that this may, in some instances, affect your care as important information about your health might not be available to healthcare staff in other organisations. If this limits the treatment that you can receive then the practice staff will explain this to you at the time you object.

To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS.

All GP practices are required to declare mean earnings (ie average pay) for Gps working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in the practice at the Marylebone Health centre in the last financial year was £24,446 before tax and National Insurance.

This is for 3 full time GPs and 6 part time GPs who worked at the practice for more than 6 months

We have allocated a Named Accountable GP for all of our registered patients. If you do not know who your named GP is, please ask a member of our reception team. Unfortunately, we are unable to notify patients in writing of any change of GP due to the costs involved.

Where it is clinically appropriate and practical to register, we now accept new registration from patients who work in the local area but reside outside of our registration area. Patients registered this way would not be entitled to home visit from the practice, however they will be able to contact NHS 111 in order to be seen by a practice closer to where they live.

For further information about this type of registration, please contact us on 020 7935 6328 Email CLCCG.PPG@nhs.net or feel free to come into the practice.

What is non-NHS work and why is there a fee?

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions: prescription charges have existed since 1951 and there are a number of other services for which fees are charged.

Sometimes the charge is because the service is not covered by the NHS, for example, providing copies of health records or producing medical reports for insurance companies, solicitors or employers.

The Government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients but not non-NHS work. It is important to understand that many GPs are not employed by the NHS; they are self-employed and they have to cover their costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc. – in the same way as any small business.

In recent years, however, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work. Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to ensure that information provided to them is true and accurate.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients are:

    • accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes
    • school fee and holiday insurance certificates
    • reports for health clubs to certify that patients are fit to exercise
    • private prescriptions for travel purposes

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:

    • life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies
    • reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with
    • disability living allowance and attendance allowance
    • medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering
    • copies of records for solicitors

Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?

With certain limited exceptions, for example a GP confirming that one of their patients is not fit for jury service, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients. Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, they are not required to do such non-NHS work.

Is it true that the BMA sets fees for non-NHS work?

The British Medical Association (BMA) suggest fees that GPs may charge their patients for non-NHS work (i.e. work not covered under their contract with the NHS) in order to help GPs set their own professional fees. However, the fees suggested by them are intended for guidance only; they are not recommendations and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates they suggest.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time. Our GPs do non-NHS work out of NHS time at evenings or weekends so that NHS patient care does suffer.

I only need the doctor’s signature – what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the doctor might have to check the patient’s ENTIRE medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.

If you are a new patient we may not have your medical records so the doctor must wait for these before completing the form.

What will I be charged?

It is recommended that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what the fee will be. It is up to individual doctors to decide how much they will charge. The surgery has a list of fees based on these suggested fees which is available on request.

What can I do to help?

    • Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge. Read the information that comes with these types of forms carefully before requesting your GP to complete them.
    • If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.
    • Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight: urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this may cost more. Usually non-NHS work will take 2 weeks.

New contractual requirements came into force from 1 April 2014 requiring that GP Practices should make available a statement of intent in relation to the following IT developments:

    • Summary Care Record (SCR)
    • GP to GP Record Transfers
    • Patient Online Access to Their GP Record
    • Data for commissioning and other secondary care purposes

The same contractual obligations require that we have a statement of intent regarding these developments in place and publicised by 30 September 2014.

Please find below details of the practices stance with regards to these points.

Summary Care Record (SCR)

NHS England require practices to enable successful automated uploads of any changes to patient’s summary information, at least on a daily basis, to the summary care record (SCR) or have published plans in place to achieve this by 31st of March 2015.

Having your Summary Care Record (SCR) available will help anyone treating you without your full medical record. They will have access to information about any medication you may be taking and any drugs that you have a recorded allergy or sensitivity to.

Of course, if you do not want your medical records to be available in this way then you will need to let us know so that we can update your record.

The practice confirms that your SCR is automatically updated on at least a daily basis to ensure that your information is as up to date as it can possibly be.

GP to GP Record Transfers

NHS England require practices to utilise the GP2GP facility for the transfer of patient records between practices, when a patient registers or de-registers (not for temporary registration).
It is very important that you are registered with a doctor at all times. If you leave your GP and register with a new GP, your medical records will be removed from your previous doctor and forwarded on to your new GP via NHS England. It can take your paper records up to two weeks to reach your new surgery.

With GP to GP record transfers your electronic record is transferred to your new practice much sooner.

The practice confirms that GP to GP transfers are already active and we send and receive patient records via this system.

Patient Online Access to Their GP Record

NHS England require practices to promote and offer the facility to enable patients online access to appointments, prescriptions, allergies and adverse reactions or have published plans in place to achieve this by 31st of March 2015.

We currently offer the facility for booking and cancelling appointments and also for ordering your repeat prescriptions and viewing a summary of your medical records on-line. If you do not already have a user name and password for this system – please register your interest with our reception staff.

Data for commissioning and other secondary care purposes

It is already a requirement of the Health and Social Care Act that practices must meet the reasonable data requirements of commissioners and other health and social care organisations through appropriate and safe data sharing for secondary uses, as specified in the technical specification for care data.

At our practice we have specific arrangements in place to allow patients to “opt out” of care.data which allows for the removal of data from the practice. Please see the page about care data on our website

The Practice confirm these arrangements are in place and that we undertake annual training and audits to ensure that all our data is handled correctly and safely via the Information Governance Toolkit.

We welcome all comments on the services provided by the Practice.

We are continually looking to turn out patients’ feedback into real improvements in the services we provide. We use it to focus on the things that matter most to our patients, carers and their families.

We would like to hear from you if you have a suggestion on how we can do things better to improve our patients’ experiences. We’d also like to hear from you if you are pleased with the service you’ve received.

We’ll let the staff involved know and share the good practice across our teams.

You may write to us or contact us by phone or fax.

Our details can be found on our Contact Us page.

About your Summary Care Record

Your Summary Care Record contains important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have previously experienced.

Allowing authorised healthcare staff to have access to this information will improve decision making by doctors and other healthcare professionals and has prevented mistakes being made when patients are being cared for in an emergency or when their GP practice is closed.

Your Summary Care Record also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS Number to help identify you correctly.

You may want to add other details about your care to your Summary Care Record. This will only happen if both you and your GP agree to do this. You should discuss your wishes with your GP practice.

Healthcare staff will have access to this information, so that they can provide safer care, whenever or wherever you need it, anywhere in England.

FAQs

Who can see my Summary Care Record?

Healthcare staff who have access to your Summary Care Record:

    • need to be directly involved in caring for you
    • need to have an NHS Smartcard with a chip and passcode
    • will only see the information they need to do their job and
    • will have their details recorded every time they look at your record

Healthcare staff will ask for your permission every time they need to look at your Summary Care Record. If they cannot ask you (for example if you are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate), healthcare staff may look at your record without asking you, because they consider that this is in your best interest.

If they have to do this, this decision will be recorded and checked to ensure that the access was appropriate.

What are my choices?

You can choose to have a Summary Care Record or you can choose to opt out.

If you choose to have a Summary Care Record and are registered with a GP practice, you do not need to do anything as a Summary Care Record is created for you.

If you choose to opt out of having a Summary Care Record and do not want a SCR, you need to let your GP practice know by filling in and returning an opt-out form (PDF, 245.9kB). Opt-out forms can be downloaded from the website or from your GP practice.

If you are unsure if you have already opted out, you should talk to the staff at your GP practice. You can change your mind at any time by simply informing your GP practice and either filling in an opt-out form (PDF, 245.9kB) or asking your GP practice to create a Summary Care Record for you.


Children and the Summary Care Record

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16, you should make this information available to them and support the child to come to a decision as to whether to have a Summary Care Record or not.

If you believe that your child should opt-out of having a Summary Care Record, we strongly recommend that you discuss this with your child’s GP. This will allow your child’s GP to highlight the consequences of opting-out, prior to you finalising your decision.

Where can I get more information?

For more information about Summary Care Records you can

The Surgery is an approved training practice for the training of General Practice Registrars (GPRs). Being an approved training practice means that:

    • patients can directly contribute to the training of future GPs
    • patients who consult with the GPR will have longer consultations
    • it keeps all doctors and nurses keep in touch with new medical developments and skills
    • It improves all doctors and nurse’s consultation and training skills
    • It ensures that clinical standards and standards of medical record keeping are maintained
    • It helps with recruitment of high quality doctors to the practice for job vacancies

GPRs are doctors in training who are qualified doctors and have already worked in hospitals as junior doctors for at least 3 years and have now decided that they would like to specialise in General Practice.

In order to qualify as a GP all doctors have to complete Postgraduate Specialist Training which includes at least 18 months training in General Practice.

The practice will be regularly assessed for its suitability for postgraduate training in general practice. This process includes an inspection of medical records for quality, NOT content. If you object to your record being seen for this process then you must let us know in writing so these notes can be withdrawn.

An essential component of training in all medical practice is the use of video and consultations with the both the GPR and the trainer present. We hope that all our patients will be willing to take part in these educational consultations to help us all in improving and maintaining our medical and consultation skills. All video recordings are strictly confidential and are used for teaching only. We will not video your consultation without your consent. Please inform Reception if you would prefer not to participate.

Patient’s Rights

We are committed to giving you the best possible service. This will be achieved by working together. Help us to help you. You have a right to, and the practice will try to ensure that:

    • You will be treated with courtesy and respect
    • You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention that you receive
    • All aspects of your visit will be dealt with in privacy and confidence
    • You will be seen by a doctor of your choice subject to availability
    • In an emergency, out of normal opening hours, if you telephone the practice you will be given the number to receive assistance, which will require no more than one further call
    • You can bring someone with you, however you may be asked to be seen on your own during the consultation
    • Repeat prescriptions will normally be available for collection within two working days of your request
    • Information about our services on offer will be made available to you by way of posters, notice boards and newsletters
    • You have the right to see your medical records or have a copy subject to certain laws.

Patient’s Responsibilities

With these rights come responsibilities and for patients we would respectfully request that you:

    • Treat practice staff and doctors with the same consideration and courtesy that you would like yourself. Remember that they are trying to help you
    • Please ensure that you order your repeat medication in plenty of time allowing 48 working hours.
    • Please ensure that you have a basic first aid kit at home and initiate minor illness and self-care for you and your family.
    • Please attend any specialist appointments that have been arranged for you or cancel them if your condition has resolved or you no longer wish to attend
    • Please follow up any test or investigations done for you with the person who has requested the investigation
    • Attend appointments on time and check in with Reception
    • Patients who are more than 20 minutes late for their appointment may not be seen.
    • If you are unable to make your appointment or no longer need it, please give the practice adequate notice that you wish to cancel. Appointments are heavily in demand and missed appointments waste time and delay more urgent patients receiving the treatment they need
    • An appointment is for one person only. Where another family member needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made
    • Patients should make every effort to present at the surgery to ensure the best use of nursing and medical time. Home visits should be medically justifiable and not requested for social convenience
    • Please inform us when you move home, change your name or telephone number, so that we can keep our records correct and up to date
    • Read the practice leaflets and other information that we give you. They are there to help you use our services. If you do not understand their content please tell us
    • Let us have your views. Your ideas and suggestions whether complimentary or critical are important in helping us to provide a first class, safe, friendly service in pleasant surroundings.

NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. For more information see these websites:

The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and their staff courteously and act reasonably.

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.

Removal from the Practice List

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Surgery, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.