Suggestions & Complaints

We welcome suggestions and comments and these can be made either to your doctor or to our Patient Services Manager, Jo Sweet.  We offer an in-house procedure to deal with complaints about the service we provide. Further information is available from reception. We attempt to resolve problems swiftly and will take appropriate action where we have failed to achieve the high standards for which we aim

Zero Tolerance

As a patient you have the right to expect the best possible care. We will try to provide that care, with respect and dignity and ask the same from you in return.

We reserve the right to ask anyone who abuses healthcare staff, verbally or physically to leave the premises. We have a zero tolerance approach towards aggressive behavior.

Doctors have a right to remove patients who are violent or abusive from the practice register.

Your Information

What information do we hold about you?

We ask you for information about yourself, so that we can give you appropriate care and treatment.

This information is kept, together with details of the care you have received, because it may be needed if we have to see you again.

What do we use it for?

Primarily information is held as your personal health record. We may use some of this information for other reasons:

• to help us protect the health of the public generally 
• to manage and plan patient care within the practice, for example: making sure that our services can meet patient needs in the future helping to measure NHS performance (steps will be taken to ensure that you cannot be identified) investigating complaints or legal claims 
• helping staff to review the care they provide to make sure it is of the highest standard 
• for training and educating our clinical staff 
• assisting with medical and health research approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee. (If anything to do with research would involve you personally, you will be contacted to see if you are willing to participate.)

Will my information be shared with anyone?

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep your information confidential, and anyone who receives that information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

If you are receiving care from other people as well as the NHS, we may need to share relevant information, to enable us all to work together for your benefit. The sharing of some information is strictly controlled by law. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the safety of others is at risk, we will not disclose your information to non NHS third parties, without your permission.

We will only give information to your relatives, friends and carers if you want us to and have given your permission.

If you would like to give consent for a 3rd party to share your information then please complete our practice consent form by clicking on this link Patient Consent Form you will need to bring or send this into the Practice so we can document your records.

Sometimes the law requires us to report information to appropriate authorities, such as when we encounter infectious diseases which endanger the safety of others or where a formal court order has been issued.

Our aim is that any records we have about you are accurate, secure and held in strictest confidence

Can I see my own records?

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to see, or have a copy of, any personal information held in your health record.  This is known as the right of 'subject access'.

Any request for access to notes by a patient, patient’s representative or outside body will be dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Patients must always give written consent if they wish to have access to their medical records. You must complete our application form entitled Access to Medical Records these are available from our website or you may collect it from the surgery.

There will be fees for accessing records. Where copies are required a minimum of £50.00 is required and a charge of £10.00 to view your medical records.

Your request will be considered and you will be advised of the decision within 21 days. There is not facility for immediate access.

Access to Medical Records Information Booklet

Access to Records Application Form

The term ‘visitor’ used below refers to anyone (including patients and their family members, other visitors and contractors) making use of the Practice’s premises and services (except employees for whom the Equal Opportunities/Anti-Discrimination (Employment) Policy^[*] applies).

The Practice:

This Policy applies to the general public, including all patients and their families, visitors and contractors.

1. Discrimination by the Practice or Visitors / patients against you

If you feel discriminated against:

·   you should bring the matter to the attention

·   will investigate the matter thoroughly and confidentially within [specify timescale, e.g. 3 working days]

·  will establish the facts and decide whether discrimination has taken place and advise you of the outcome of the investigation within [specify timescale, e.g. within 10 working days]

If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you should raise a formal complaint through the Practice’s Complaints Procedure ^[*]

2. Discrimination against the Practice’s staff

The Practice will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment of our staff by any visitor. Any visitor who expresses any form of discrimination against, or harassment of, any member of our staff, will be required to leave the Practice’s premises forthwith. If the visitor is a patient, he/she may be removed from the Practice’s list if any such behaviour occurs on more than one occasion.