Policies & Procedures

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of health care and central to the work of everyone working in general practice. 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. Information is only accessed when necessary for your care.

Privacy Notice 

How we use your medical records - important information for patients

Covid-19 Important Notice – How We Use Your Information 

To enable us to ensure we can continue to provide safe and effective medical care for you during the coronavirus pandemic, we are working with other local Practices in the area to enable them to access your medical records under a ‘shared admin’ function on the clinical system. 

This means that if any Practice is not able to see their patients during the pandemic then another Practice will be able to support your medical needs. 

The Practice who we are working with are:  

• Bedlingtonshire Medical Group 
• Guidepost Medical Group 
• The Gables Medical Group 

This notice explains why we collect information about you and how that information may be used.

• This practice handles medical records in-line with laws on data protection and confidentiality.
• We share medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment e.g. NHS Trust, Urgent Care Centres.
• In some circumstances we will also share medical records for medical research, for example to find out more about why people get ill. When we do this we take strict measures to ensure that individuals cannot be identified or we gain explicit consent to do this.
• We share information when the law requires us to do so, for example, to prevent infectious diseases from spreading or to check the care being provided to you is safe.
• NHS health records 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 Rights
• You have the right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide you with care.
• You have the right to be given a copy of your medical record.
• You have the right to object to your information being used for medical research and to plan health services.
• You have the right to have any mistakes corrected and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it.

Read more detailed information here

General Practice Transparency Notice for GPES Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19)

Connecting Your Care

Dated: 17-Aug-17

Your information can be digitally shared between other health and care organisations who are treating you. 

Here are some examples of care services who can access your patient record:

• GP Practices.
• Community Services: e.g. District Nurses.
• Child Health Services who undertake scheduling of treatments e.g. Vaccinations.
• Urgent Care Organisations, Minor Injury Units and Out of Hours Services.
• NHS Mental Health Trusts.
• Care Homes.
• Palliative Care Hospices.

Why Should I share my Record?

Sharing enables your clinician to have a clear, up to date picture of your health, they can therefore make accurate decisions relating to your ongoing care.

You don’t have to explain your medical history each time you visit a clinician.

It improves your care and prevents unnecessary tests being requested and performed.

Can I choose not to share?

Can I choose not to share?

Yes, you can decide whether you want your information to be shared or not. If you do not want this to happen please let us know.

Or if you would like more information please ask for our information leaflet.

Thank you.

Summary Care Records

A  Summary Care Record (SCR) will be available to people providing you with care anywhere in England. For more details please visit the website:

www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk

If you decide not to allow access to your records please submit an opt out form to the surgery. Download the Opt Out form and more information here.

Consent Form for Access to Health Data

The health records of our patients are confidential. We are unable to release any aspect of a patient’s record (including results and appointment times) to another person without that patient’s consent. This applies to all our patients over the age of 18. We will often have no choice but to refuse access to a patient’s record, even if the person asking for details is a very close family member.

Patients do have the power to gift consent to others to see their medical information and to discuss their health and care. They can do so by completing the form below, which needs to be witnessed. This is not a decision to be taken lightly as it allows the named person access to all of their medical data.

Once the form has been completed, either post it to the surgery or return it in person to any of our reception desks.

• Download Consent Form.

Patient Responsibility

• Courtesy to staff at all times – remember they are working under doctors instructions.
  
• Attending appointments on time or give the practice adequate notice that they wish to cancel – lateness or non-attendance inconveniences other patients and wastes appointment time.
  
• We operate a Zero Tolerance Policy against threatening behaviour, verbal and physical abuse to anyone in the Practice.

Change of Details

Please let the surgery know of any changes that affect your personal details should you move house, change your name or telephone number – in particular ex-directory numbers – in case we need to contact you urgently.

Tests

Urine Tests

Norham Road Branch: Urine Samples must be handed in by 3.30pm.

Newbiggin Branch: Urine Samples must be handed in by 12.30pm to allow for processing and transport to the laboratory for testing – unless a Doctor asks for an urgent sample. 

Test Results
Please wait at least one week before ringing for your results. If your result gives the Doctor cause for concern, the Practice will contact you before then. When you ring, the Receptionist will ask you when you had the test done and if it was a blood test or a urine test. This is so they can ensure they are not giving results to anyone else. Results can only be given to the patient, not a relative except for children. 

We have a dedicated results line which you can access by calling 01670 842001. The results line is open on:

• Monday to Friday 2.00pm until 6.00pm
• The first Saturday morning of every month between 8.30am till 11.30am

Ear Syringing Appointments

If you have booked an appointment for ear syringing with the district nurse, you must read the information leaflet here before your appointment.

• Download the information leaflet here

Text Messaging

If you have provided a mobile telephone number we may contact you via text, this could be to:

• Confirm a booked appointment
• Remind you about a booked appointment
• Send appointment reminders
• Send you a results notification
• Advise you of Practice opening hours

If you do not wish to receive any text messages from us please let a receptionist know and we can put this on your medical record. 

We will not text you to promote any services or for marketing purposes. 

Complaints

We always try to give you the best service possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. 

If we fail in achieving our aim, we would like you to tell us. We believe that we can learn from complaints, so please do tell us if you are not happy about any aspect of our service. We think it is important to deal with complaints swiftly and we aim to do so. Wherever possible, we will deal with your complaint, immediately in person, or over the phone.

If this is not possible, we will investigate your complaint thoroughly. If we feel a meeting will be helpful, you will be invited to meet with us and you can bring a friend or relative with you if you wish. We will keep you informed if the meeting is likely to be delayed whilst we are investigating.

We will try to address your concern fully, provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed. We hope that you will feel that we have dealt with your complaint thoroughly. However, if you are not satisfied, you will be able to take your complaint further and we will put you in contact with the people who can help you.

Our Practice Complaints Procedure is not able to deal with questions of legal liability or compensation. We hope you will use it to allow us to look into and if necessary put right any problems you have identified or mistakes that have been made. If you use our procedure, it will not affect your right to take your complaint further if you want to. 

Suggestions

Should you have any suggestions to offer about the Practice, this website, or any aspect of the service we provide, please let us know. A Suggestion Box is situated in the Waiting Room - or you can ask to speak to the Practice Administration Manager.

Safeguarding Children & Adults

SPMG is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. SPMG will respond appropriately to any allegations, reports or suspicions of abuse in any form.

Safeguarding Children

If you are concerned that a child might be suffering abuse, please contact the police, social services, speak to your GP or ask a receptionist for further information.

See our Safeguarding Children Policy Statement.

Safeguarding Adults

If you have concerns that a vulnerable adult might be suffering abuse, please contact the police, social services, speak to your GP, or ask a receptionist for further information.

See our Safeguarding Adults Policy Statement.

Disabled Patients

Under 16s

Subject Access Request 

Removal of Patients from the Doctor's List

We would hope that this would be an uncommon event and where things had gone wrong we could address any areas of disagreement, before removal became necessary.

However if doctors, their colleagues, their staff and other patients feel threatened or have actually been subject to violence or racist or otherwise discriminatory behaviour or abuse of any sort we will have no alternative but to ask for removal of perpetrators of such actions from our practice list.

We would also seek removal from the practice list of anyone who has been dishonest or deceitful in their dealings with the practice or if we feel that relationships have broken down with a significant number of staff so that continuing to provide care would become impractical

Removal of a patient or family from the doctors list, would be carried out under the guidelines issued by the General Medical Council and Royal College of General Practitioners and under most circumstances a full explanation would be provided.