Your Patient Rights

 

You have the right to confidentiality under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the Human Rights Act 1998 and the common law duty of confidence (the Disability Discrimination and the Race Relations Acts may also apply).

 

• You also have the right to ask for a copy of all records about you (you may have to pay a fee)

• Your request must be made in writing to the organisation holding your information

• There may be a charge to have a printed copy of the information held about you

• We are required to respond to you within 21 days

• You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address, date of birth NHS number etc.,)

• You will be required to provide id before any information is released to you.

 

If you think anything within your medical record is inaccurate or incorrect, please inform the organisation holding your information.

 

Your rights and responsibilities to your GP Practice

 

• Every UK resident has the right to be registered with a GP Practice.

• Your GP Practice is your gateway to all other health services.

• You can see a GP within 48 hours if you want to be seen that quickly.

• You can book appointments in advance so that the appointment is as convenient as possible for you.

• Your GP Practice may offer a telephone discussion with a GP or Nurse if that is convenient to you.

• You can have at least 10 minutes with your GP / Practice Nurse to fully discuss any health issues.

• Your GP Practice can offer you general health advice or advice / treatment in relation to smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, drug usage, etc. They are not just there for when you are ill.

• Use your NHS services wisely, if you have an appointment booked but then don’t need it or can’t make it, then please remember to contact the surgery and cancel it.

• Everyone will be treated with dignity and respect – patients and staff alike.

• If you change your address or telephone number, please inform your GP Practice so that they have accurate information if they need to contact you.

• You are free to change your GP practice and choose another so if you wish to change your GP practice (for whatever reason) then you can –

• Just turn up at a practice and if you live within their geographical boundary you will be able to register and join the practice

• You will be offered an initial appointment with the Nurse or GP.

• The NHS Constitution brings together the principles, values, rights and responsibilities that underpin the NHS. For patients and the public this means clarity about:

• What they have a right to expect from the NHS

• What to do if they do not get what they expect

• The responsibilities they have for making the NHS work effectively

 

The NHS Constitution can be found at www.dh.gov.uk/nhsconstitution

How we use your Records:

 

• To Provide a good basis for all health decisions made by you and care professionals

• Allow you to work with those providing care

• Make sure your care is safe and effective, and

• Work effectively with others providing you with care

 

Others may also need to use records about you to:

 

• check the quality of care (such as clinical audit)

• protect the health of the general public

• keep track of NHS spending

• manage the health service

• help investigate any concerns or complaints you or your family have about your health care

• teach health workers and other healthcare professionals

• help with research

 

Information may be required for research, auditing and statistical purposes, but in these circumstances the information required will remain anonymous. If you do require any further information in relation to this, please ask to speak to the practice manager.

All personal data including patient information relating to living individuals that are held in either electronic or manual systems are subject to this act. This practice is registered with the Data Protection Registrar.

Click here to view Your records are safe with us.

 

Click here to view our poster.

Click here to view our leaflet.

Click here to view our opt out form.

 

Click here to view “Your Data Matters to the NHS” leaflet

 

Please note all patients have a named allocated GP and you can contact the surgery to find out who your specific GP is.

Dr Borse & Partner

 

Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Dr Borse & Partner Publication Scheme. This is a guide to the General Practitioners within the Practice Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

 

Introduction

 

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by  Dr Borse Surgery. It is a description of the information about our General Practitioners and the Practice, which we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

 

How much does it cost?

 

The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated.

 

How is the information made available?

 

The information within each class is available in hard copy.  To obtain a copy your request should be directed to the Practice Manager.

 

Your rights to information

 

• Ø  In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about   Dr Borse Surgery under the NHS Openness Code 1995.
• Ø  The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, and how much they cost and how the decisions are made.
• Ø  From 1^st January 2005 it will oblige the General Practice to respond to requests about information that it holds, and is recorded in any format and it will create a right of access to that information. These rights are subject to some exemptions, which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.
• Ø  New environmental information regulations may be introduced as early as 2003. These will enable similar access to environmental information as under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• Ø  Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact the Practice Manager to do this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feedback

 

If you have any comments about the operation of the Publications Scheme, or how we have dealt with your request for information from the Scheme, please write to:

 

CLASSES OF INFORMATION

 

All information at Surgery Name is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS guidelines. Our commitment to publish information excludes any information, which can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or Freedom of Information Act 2000. Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are e.g. the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to all Classes within the Publication Scheme. The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following categories:

 

1.         Who we are

 

Surgery Name operates as part of NHS Stoke-on-Trent. The practice adheres to a Personal Medical Services contract with NHS Stoke-on-Trent.

The practice aims to follow National Institute for Clinical Excellence and National Service Frameworks Guidelines. The NHS is a very large part of the public sector. A full list of local General Practices is available from NHS Stoke on Trent. Surgery Name provides Personal Medical Services for the geographical area of Hanley and the surrounding area.

 

The Doctor               

                       

           

Practice Nurses

          

 

Practice Manager

                                 

 

 

2.         Our Services

 

The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS includes: Child Health Surveillance; contraceptive services; maternity medical services (including midwife clinics); baby clinics; disease management clinics (asthma, diabetes, CHD etc); smoking cessation; travel advice and vaccinations; cervical cytology; and immunisations.

 

 

A language line service is available for any patients who do not speak English.

 

The Practice is open from  

         

Outside the hours

cover is provided by the North Staffs Urgent Care Services, Basford.

This service is to be used in the event of an emergency and is not to be used by patients unable to attend normal surgery hours.

 

The practice is fully computerised and your medical records are held on computer.  We also need to share information with the Health Authority, hospitals and other NHS bodies to provide for your care. We feel that it is essential for the care of our patients and to help improve NHS services.

 

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to see your records and have the right to have inaccurate data corrected. There is a charge for this.

 

The Doctor, Nurse and attached staff use the computer to record clinical data.

 

The practice staff use the computer to prepare prescriptions, arrange appointments and recall patients. The staff are required to treat patient information in the strictest confidence and have been given training in their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

People who work with the practice, but do not directly provide your care may read patient records. The people are properly trained and have the same duty of confidentiality as the practice staff.

 

To provide the best possible patient care the practice may at times need to share information with other agencies (for example when referring to a hospital)

 

Patients have the right to object to their medical records being used like this. Should a patient inform us of this we will enter this into their records. Such requests will be respected except where disclosure is essential to protect the patient or someone else from risk or serious harm.

 

In any situation where the practice is being asked to release personal information about a patient (when the patient’s identity is part of the data) the practice will only do this with the patients consent.

 

There are strict security measures in place at the practice, the Health Authority and other NHS bodies to keep your records confidential. Any research project that is undertaken at the practice has to be approved by the Local Ethics Research Committee.

 

 

3.         Financial and funding information

 

Dr Borse surgery has a contract with NHS Stoke-on-Trent  to provide services to our patients. We have an annual budget for providing these services, and an additional prescribing budget.

 

The amounts for the above budgets are available

 

4.         Regular publications and information for the public

 

The practice provides a practice information leaflet which gives details of the services we provide for patients. We also provide a newsletter with up to date information on services provided, along with any changes to the practice.

Leaflets and newsletters are available at reception.Results of practice surveys can be found on our website

 

 

5.         Complaints

 

The practice always tries to provide the best service possible to patients, but there may unfortunately be times when patients feel that this has not happened. The practice has an in-house complaints procedure to deal with complaints and grievances. The practice liaises closely with NHS Stoke-on-Trent when dealing with any complaints.  We encourage patients to use this procedure to allow us to look into, and if necessary, correct any problems that have be been identified or mistakes that have been made. The practice respects its duty of confidence to patients and a patient’s consent is necessary if a complaint is made by a third party, and not the patient in person.

 

If a patient wishes to complain we request that they speak to, or write to our Practice Manager, or complete a complaints form. Full details are taken regarding the complaint and a decision will be made on how best to undertake an investigation into that complaint. The practice feels that it is important to deal with complaints swiftly, and patients will be offered an appointment to discuss the details, within 10 working days.

 

A copy of the practice in-house complaints procedure can be found in Appendix 1

 

 

 

 

6.         Our policies and procedures

 

The practice has some in-house policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety and well being of both patients and staff.

 

7.         This Publication Scheme

 

In this class we will publish any changes we make to the Publication Scheme, the criteria on which our information management policies are made and a referral point for all enquiries regarding information management generally in the practice We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.

 

 

 

Appendix 1

 

In-House Practice Complaints Procedure

 

Patient Information Leaflet

 

 

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate an in-house complaints procedure where we liaise closely with NHS Stoke-on-Trent, as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

 

 

How to Complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time that they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible, ideally within a few days or at most a few weeks, this will then enable us to establish what happened more easily. If this is not possible, please let us have details of you complaint:

• Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints, in the first instance, should be addressed to the Practice Manager. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the Practice Manager in order to discuss your concerns. He/ She will explain the complaints procedure to you and will make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It would be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.

 

How We Will Deal With Your Complaint

The practice will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to have looked into it within 10 working days of the date when you raised it with us. We will then be in the position to offer you a full explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:

• Find out what happened and what went wrong
• Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
• Make sure that you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
• Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t arise again.

 

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

 

Complaining to your PCT

Our In-House complaints procedure does not affect your right to approach your local PCT which is NHS Stoke-on-Trent. If you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.

 

Please contact:

 

Complaints Department

4^th Floor London House

Hide Street

Stoke on Trent

ST4 1NF

 

Tel: 01782 401055