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 GP's, 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.
Complaints
If you have a comment, suggestion or complaint about the service you have received from this practice, please let us know. You may use the box in the entrance hall, write, telephone or ask to speak to our Practice Manager. We operate a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Information leaflets are available on request.
Formal Complaint:
Patients wishing to make formal comments or complaints relating to the service they have received should make contact with our Practice Manager who will try and resolve the issue for you in line with our in-house complaints procedure.
The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) provides confidential advice and support to patients, families and carers, and can offer advice on NHS and health-related matters. They can be helpful in such areas and can be contacted on 01942 482956.
If an issue remains unresolved following a practice review then patients may take their complaints to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. They can be contacted via phone on 0345 015 4033 or email on phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk.
Patients can write to the ombudsman at:
The parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
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.