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.

Child Protection Policy

This Practice has a code of conduct safeguarding children and has been awarded a Safe Practice Certificate from the Suffolk Area Child Protection Committee.  As part of our commitment to safeguarding children, the Practice has adopted the Committee's policy on Child Protection, details of which are available on request from reception.

Working Together

The Practice

Patients are entitled to be treated with courtesy and respect.  We will try to answer the phone promptly and courteously.  The Practice will always offer you a same day appointment if you feel this is necessary.  We will try to see you within 20 minutes of your appointment time.  You will be given an explanation if there are unexpected delays.

The Patient

Patients are asked to treat our Practice Staff with courtesy.  To help us be efficient please try to call outside of main surgery times for non-urgent requests.  Monday morning is always very busy so avoid if possible!  Patients requesting a same day appointment may have an appointment with another Doctor if their usual Doctor is not available.  Please try to be punctual and to let us know if you cannot attend an appointment.

You should not always expect to be given a prescription.  You can arrange a repeat prescription using the special computer slip give to you by your Doctor.  Please help us use our resources efficiently by coming to the Surgery whenever possible.  Patients are asked not to call outside of the normal working day except in cases of real emergency.

You will find that an out of hours emergency call may be dealt with by the giving of advice, a visit to the Base Surgery, or a home visit.  Patients are, of course, responsible for their own health and that of their children.

It is always the right of a patient to transfer to another Practice if they wish.

MRC General Practice Research Framework

The Medical Research Council is a government-funded organisation which supports high quality research with the aim of maintaining and promoting human health.

This Practice is a member of the Medical Research Council's General Practice Research Framework - a national group of General Practices interested in research on many topics including prevention of heart disease, low back pain, asthma, diabetes and assessment of elderly people.

If the Practice takes part in a study we may pass anonymous information from your medical records or our practice computer to the Medical Research Council.  If we do, the information will remain confidential and be used only for purposes of research which has been approved by an Ethics Committee.

We may also write to you to ask whether you would consider helping with some research.  If we contacted you, you would be free to refuse to help without your medical care from the Practice being affected in any way.

To choose the best sample for research it is important that we are able to approach all eligible people and to pass information to the Medical Research Council.  However, you are fee to refuse permission for us to include you in the research we undertake and if you wish to do so please write to the Practice Manager.

Complaints

We try to offer you the best service we can at all times. There may be occasions when you feel this has not happened. If this should be the case or if you wish to make any comment on our service please contact the Practice Manager.

Download our 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.

Health Risk Screening / Risk Stratification Privacy Notice