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.
Complaints
In this practice we operate a practice complaint procedure as part of the NHS system. Our aim is to provide you with a high standard of care and we will try to deal swiftly with any problem that may occur. If there is a problem please contact your practice manager:
Mrs S Hawkes – Ashfield Surgery
Mrs S Harris – Pendeford Surgery
How you make a complaint about primary care services is changing on 1 July 2023
You have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care, treatment or service, this is written into the NHS Constitution on GOV.UK.
From 1 July 2023 the way you make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner is changing.
By primary care services we mean GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacy services.
There are two ways you can make a complaint:
- You can make a complaint about the service you received at our practice directly to us. To do this please contact reception who will be able to assist you with your complaint.
- You can complain to the commissioner of the service: this is the organisation that paid for the service or care you received.
After 1 July 2023 if you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will now contact the Black Country Integrated Care Board instead of NHS England.
You can do this by:
Telephone: 0300 0120 281
Email: bcicb.time2talk@nhs.net
Writing to us at: Time2Talk, NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SH
If you want to make a complaint directly to the provider of the primary care service, you still can – that does not change on the 1 July 2023.
Please see the Black Country ICB Compliments, concerns and complaints leaflet here.
Ongoing complaints
If you have an ongoing complaint placed on or after 1 July 2022, you will receive a letter from NHS England informing you that the Black Country ICB is now handling your complaint, this will include confirmation of your case handler.
If you have an ongoing complaint placed before 1 July 2022, you will receive a letter from NHS England informing you that your complaint is being retained by NHS England, this will include confirmation of your case handler.
Find out more about how to feedback or make a complaint about an NHS service or visit the Time2Talk Customer Services page on our website.
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.