Confidentiality & Medical Records
The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
- To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.
Access to Records
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Compliments or Complaints
We hope that, if you have a problem, you feel able to use our practice complaints procedure. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and the opportunity to improve our practice.
A complaints leaflet is available.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you have the right to approach the Health Service Ombudsman. The contact details are:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Millbank Tower Millbank London SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
NHS England is now responsible for the commissioning of primary care services, so you may also approach the NHS England Contact Centre if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us.
Tel: 0300 3112233
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
You may also approach Healthwatch or the Independent Health Complaints Advocacy for help or advice;
The local Healthwatch can be found at: www.healthwatch.co.uk
The IHCA is able to be contacted at: www.seap.org.uk/services/nhs-complaints-advocacy
Complaints Leaflet
Complaints Policy
Violence Policy
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.