Practice Policies & Patient Information

Making a complaint

Policy on Investigations & Treatment

When we request investigations for our patients, they are always part of a carefully considered management plan aimed at clarifying a medical problem as quickly as possible. On rare occasions we will carry out investigations for a consultant to whom we have referred our patient and who requests the investigation in writing. We remain responsible for all the tests that we request and are obliged to follow up the results and take action where appropriate. For that reason, we are unable to carry out investigations for other doctors whom we have no interaction. This includes family doctors and specialists in other countries.

Similarly, should a doctor with whom we have no interaction request a particular medication for a patient, it is his/her responsibility to prescibe it. If we ultimately prescribe for a patient in such circumstances, we will take over medical management to allow us to monitor the effects of such treatment.

Dr Freer & Dr Dunston

Privacy Notice

Finch Hill Health Centre has a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you, as a registered patient, at the practice. Staff at this practice maintain records about your health and the treatment you receive in electronic and paper format.

What information do we collect about you?

We will collect information such as personal details, including name, address, next of kin, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health records, treatment and medications, test results, X-rays etc and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

How we will use your information.

Your data is collected for the purpose of providing direct patient care; however, we can disclose this information if it is required by law, if you give consent or if it is justified in the public interest.

In order to comply with its legal obligations, this practice may send data to the Department of Health & Social Care when directed by the Health Minister under the Health & Social Care Act 2012. Additionally, this practice contributes to national clinial audits and will send the data that is required byt the Department of Social Care when the law allows. This may include demographic data, such as date of birth, and information about your health which is recording in coded form; for example, the clinical code for diabetes or high blood pressure.

Processing your information in the way and obtaining your consent ensures that we comply with Articles 6(1)(c), 6(1)(e) and 9(2)(h) of the GDPR.

Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records.

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the NHS codes of Confidentiality and Security, as well as guidance issued byt the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You have a right to access the information we hold about you, and if you would like to access this information , you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Please ask at reception for an SAR form and you will be given further information. Furthermore, should you identify any inaccuracies; you have a right to have the accurate data corrected.

Risk stratification

Risk stratification is a mechanism used to identify and subsequently manage those patients deemed as being at high risk of requiring urgent or emergency care. Usually this includes patients with long-term conditions e.g cancer. Your information is collected by a number of sources, including Finch Hill Health Centre and this information is processed electronically and given a risk score which is relayed to your GP who can then decide on any necessary actions to ensure that you receive the most appropriate care.

Opt-outs

You have a right to object to your information being shared. Should you wish to opt out of data collection, please contact a member of staff who will be able to explain how you can opt-out and prevent the sharing of your information; this is done by registering to opt-out online (national data opt-out programme) or if you are unable to do so or do not wish to do so online, by speaking to a member of staff.

Retention periods

In accordance with the NHS codes of Practice for Records Management, your healthcare records will be retained for 10 years after death, or if a patient emigrates, for 10 years after the date of emigration.

What to do if you have any questions.

Should you have any questions about our privacy policy or the information we hold about you, you can:

1. Contact the practice’s data controller via email at [email protected] GP practices are data controllers for the data they hold about their patients.

2. Write to the data controller at Finch Hill Health Centre.

3. Ask to speak to the Practice Manager Mrs Rebecca Kelly.

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for Finch Hill Health Centre is Mrs Rebecca Kelly at Finch Hill Health Centre.

Complaints.

In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with any element of our data-processing methods, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO. For further details, www.inforights.im and select Making a complaint.

Changes to our privacy policy.

We regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website and on posters to reflect the changes.

Social Media Defamation

The partners at Finch Hill Health Centre welcome comments and suggestions from their patients and these can be submitted via our website or in writing to the Practice Manager.

If you have a comment or complaint about the surgery we encourage you to report this through the correct channels, not via social media such as Facebook. The practice always investigates complaints and responds to patients in a timely way.

The partners will not hesitate to remove a patient from the surgery list if they are found to have made libellous statements or defamatory comments about the surgery or a member of the surgery staff. The legal definition of defamation is:

“any intentionally false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person’s reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person.”

Thank you

The Rights & Responsibilities of a Patient

Your Rights:

You are entitled to be treated professionally and courteously at all times by all members of staff.
You are entitled to have your concerns fully explored and receive a full explanation of your illness.
You are entitled to ask for a second opinion if you are unhappy about your treatment.
Any information about you will never be divulged to any third party without your (usually written) consent.

Your Responsibilities:

You should keep appointments you have made and turn up on time or cancel at least one hour before.
You should do your best to follow advice you have been given
You should only ask for home visits or urgent appointments when they are really necessary

Should the Practice wish to remove a patient as per the GMS contract:

13.10. Removals from the list at the request of the Contractor 13.10.1. Subject to clauses 13.11.1 to 13.11.8, where the Contractor has reasonable grounds for wishing a patient to be removed from its list of patients which do not relate to the person’s age, appearance, disability or medical condition, gender or gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or 69 maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or social class the Contractor must: (a) give notice in writing to the Board that it wants to have that person removed; and (b) subject to clause 13.10.2, give notice in writing to that person of its specific reasons for requesting the removal of that person. 13.10.2. Where, in the reasonable opinion of the Contractor, the circumstances of the person’s removal are such that it is not appropriate for a more specific reason to be given, and there has been an irrevocable breakdown in the relationship between the relevant person and the Contractor, the reason given under clause 13.10.1 may consist of a statement that there has been such a breakdown. 13.10.3. Except in the circumstances specified in clause 13.10.4, the Contractor may only request the removal of a person from its list of patients under clause 13.10.1, if, before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the Contractor’s request to the Board, the Contractor has: (a) warned that person of the risk of being removed from that list; and (b) explained to that person the reasons for this. 13.10.4. The circumstances specified in this clause are that: (a) the reason for the removal relates to a change of address; (b) the Contractor has reasonable grounds for believing that the giving of such a warning would: (i) be harmful to the person’s physical or mental health, or (ii) put at risk the safety of one or more of the persons specified in clause 13.10.5; or (c) the Contractor considers that it is not otherwise reasonable or practical for a warning to be given. 13.10.5. The persons referred to in clause 13.10.4 are: (a) if the Contractor is an individual medical practitioner, the Contractor; (b) if the Contractor is a partnership, a partner in the partnership; (c) if the Contractor is a company limited by shares, a person who is both a legal and beneficial owner of shares in that company; 70 (d) a member of the Contractor’s staff; (e) a person engaged by the Contractor to perform or assist in the performance of services under the Contract; or (f) any other person present on the practice premises or in the place where services are being provided to the patient under the Contract. 13.10.6. The Contractor must keep a written record of: (a) the date of any warning given in accordance with clause 13.10.3 and the reasons for giving such a warning as explained to the patient concerned, or (b) the reason why no such warning was given. 13.10.7. The Contractor must keep a written record of the removal of any person from its list of patients under clause 13.10 which must include: (a) the reason given for the removal; (b) the circumstances of the removal; and (c) in cases where clause 13.10.2 applies, the grounds for a more specific reason not being appropriate, and the Contractor must make this record available to the Board on request. 13.10.8. The removal of a person from the Contractor’s list of patients must, subject to clause 13.10.9, take effect from whichever is the earlier of: (a) the date on which the Board is given notice of the registration of that person with another provider of essential services (or their equivalent), or (b) the eighth day after the Board is given notice under clause 13.10.1(a). 13.10.9. Where, on the date on which the removal of a person would take effect under clause 13.10.8(b), the Contractor is treating that person at intervals of less than seven days, the Contractor must give notice in writing to the Board of that fact and the removal is to take effect on whichever is the earlier of: (a) the eighth day after the Board is given notice by the Contractor that the person no longer needs such treatment, or (b) the date on which the Board is given notice of the registration of the person with another provider of essential services (or their equivalent). 13.10.10. The Board must given notice in writing to: (a) the person in respect of whom the removal is requested; and (b) the Contractor, that the person’s name has been or is to be removed from the Contractor’s list of patients on the date referred to in clause 13.10.8(b) or 13.10.9.

Violent or Abusive Patients