Practice Policies

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.

Data Protection

We respect your right to privacy and keep all your health information confidential and secure. However, there will be occasions when the data needs to be used for training purposes or audit, to ensure that patients receive the best possible care, and that services offered by the Practice meet required standards. In these cases, your written consent will be sought with a full explanation of the proposed activity. We use anonymised data when dealing with outside agencies such as the NHS Rotherham. Some information may be shared with other relevant health care agencies when necessary for patient care.

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.

Rethink Mental Illness

We are a voluntary led peer support group that welcomes anyone with lived experience of mental illness, and carers and supporters of mental illness.

We meet every Tuesday 10.30 – 12.30 to share information and offer mutual support to one another.

For more information please:

Email us at groups@rethink.org
Telephone the group on 07879400847
Visit our website on www.rethink.org

Access to Medical Records

We are required by law to allow you access to your medical records. If you wish to see your records, please contact the Practice Manager for further advice. All requests to view medical records should be made in writing to the Surgery. Law allows us to charge a small fee to cover our administration and costs.

We have a duty to keep your medical records accurate and up to date. Please feel free to inform us of any entries that you consider to be inaccurate so that we can review and if necessary correct any errors of fact that may have been included in your medical records over the years.

CCTV

CCTV is in operation at the Practice. Images are being recorded for the purpose of crime prevention and public safety. Please contact the Practice Manager for further information.

Complaints

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception or by Complaints Procedure here.

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.

Zero Tolerance

We support the government’s NHS zero tolerance zone campaign. GPs and their staff have the right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. Violent patients will be reported to the police and removed from the GP’s list. We ask that you treat your GP and practice staff properly – without violence or abuse.

Named GP for Patients 

As part of a national programme, from April 2014 all practices are required to provide their patients aged 75 and over with a named accountable GP who will have overall responsibility for the care and support that the surgery provides to them. Your named GP will have overall responsibility for your care but it does not prevent or restrict you from seeing any other GP or nurse in the Practice.

For patients over 75 your named GP is your usual GP. If you wish to confirm your usual GP please ask at reception when you next attend.

If you wish to change your usual GP please inform reception of your preferred GP at the time.

Privacy Notice  

Further written information is available regarding the Privacy Notice by clicking here.

COVID19 Privacy Notice