Practice Policies & Patient Information
Accountable GP
We will register you with a GP, and you do have a right to request to see a GP of your choice.
All patients aged over 75 years will have a named GP.
You can find out who your named GP is by asking at reception; this information is also shown on your repeat prescription form
Complaints Procedure
What happens when I complain?
Stage One
We hope that most problems can be sorted out locally and informally. This should be done, if you feel able to, by first speaking to the member of staff who you have already had contact with. If the complaint is about that person, ask to see the person in charge. Tell them clearly that you are not satisfied and why.
Stage Two
How our Formal Complaints procedure works
If we have been unable to resolve your concerns with the person in charge or if you have asked for your complaint to be registered as formal the following procedure will take place:
What action can I take if I am not happy with the outcome of my complaint?
If you are dissatisfied without final response, you should contact the Practice Manager in the first instance to discuss your concerns further. We will ensure that every effort is made to satisfactorily address any outstanding issues.
In the event that you believe the organisation has not provided a satisfactory response to the matter that you confirmed in your initial correspondence you can contact NHS England complaint service on the contact details below.
NHS England National Call Centre Service 0300 311 2233
They will pass your concerns to the local locality to be dealt with.
Make a Comment or Suggestion
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COVID 19 Privacy Notice
Direct Care Privacy
How Health & Beyond uses your information to provide you with healthcare
This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.
We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment.
We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.
- We will share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, your GP will share information when they refer you to a specialist in a hospital. Or your GP will send details about your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.
- For more information on how we share your information with organisations who are directly involved in your care can be found here: [Insert link to information about local shared records arrangements, like shared Care Agreements, MDT etc)
- Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergic reactions. This will involve the use of your Summary Care Record.
For more information see: https://digital.nhs.uk/summary-care-records or alternatively speak to your practice.
- You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object. You also have the right to have any mistakes or errors corrected.
Other important information about how your information is used to provide you with healthcare
All patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database.
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Identifying patients who might be at risk of certain diseases
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Safeguarding
Up to date Safeguarding |
We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information.
Data Protection Officer contact details
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Purpose of the processing
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Lawful basis for processing
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These purposes are supported under the following sections of the GDPR:
Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’; and Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…” Healthcare staff will also respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence. |
Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
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The data will be shared with:
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Rights to object
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Right to access and correct |
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Retention period
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GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: https://digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016 or speak to the practice. |
Right to complain
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You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or call the helpline 0303 123 1113 |
Data we get from other organisations | We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service. |
GP GDPR Privacy Notice
GP Net Earnings
Publication of GP Net Earnings (Health & Beyond Partnership)
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice. The average pay for GPs working in Health & Beyond in the last financial year was £56,918 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 8 full time GPs, 12 part time GPs and 6 long term locums who have worked in the practice for more than 6 months.
31-03-2023
Practice Charter
We welcome comments from all our patients, and we will never discriminate on grounds of race, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation or appearance, disability or medical condition.
Policy on Violent or Abusive Patients
We are committed to always being courteous, professional and respectful toward everyone that comes to our surgeries. We expect our patients to treat our staff in a similar respectful way.
The practice operates a Zero Tolerance Policy Health and Beyond and therefore will not tolerate Rude, Bullying or Aggressive behaviour by patients or family/carers toward our staff or other patients. We take seriously any threatening, abusive or violent behaviour patients exhibiting this behaviour will be warned to stop their behaviour immediately.
If they persist, we may exercise our right to take action to have them removed, immediately if necessary, and also from our list of patients through the NHS Zero Tolerance Removal procedure. Persons removed from the practice list will be made to find alternative care.
Privacy Policy
Confidentiality, Data Protection & Freedom of Information act
It is important that the practice keep accurate and up-to-date records about your health and treatment so that those treating you can give you the best possible advice and care. This information is only available to those involved in your care.
You have a right to know what information we hold about you. The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to request information we hold. If you would like to see your records, please contact our Practice Manager. You will be asked to complete a request form and there may be a charge for this information.
Please ask for a listing of all charges for letters, reports and copies of your information.
Information requested by third party organisations outside the NHS will NOT be shared without your explicit written consent.
GDPR Compliance Statement
Introduction
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR) came into force across the European Union on 25th May 2018 and brings with it the most significant changes to data protection law in two decades. Based on privacy by design and taking a risk-based approach, the GDPR has been designed to meet the requirements of the digital age.
Our Commitment
Health and Beyond is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process, and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. We have always had a robust and effective data protection programme in place which complies with existing law. However, we recognise our obligations to meet the demands of the GDPR and the UK’s Data Protection Bill.
H&B is dedicated to safeguarding personal information and in developing a data protection regime that is effective, fit for purpose and demonstrates an understanding of new regulations.
H&B have a consistent level of data protection and security across our organisation, and are fully compliant with the GDPR from 25th May 2018. Our process includes:
- Information Audits – scheduled network wide information audit to identify and assess what personal information we hold
- Policies & Procedures – revised data protection policies and procedures which meet the requirements and standards of the GDPR and any relevant data protection laws.
- Data Protection – our main policy and procedure document for data protection meets the standards and requirements of the GDPR laws. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that we understand and adequately disseminate and evidence our obligations and responsibilities.
- Data Breaches – our breach procedures ensure that we have measures in place to identify, assess, investigate and report any personal data breach within the required timeframe. Our procedures have been disseminated to all employees, making them aware of the reporting lines and steps to follow.
- Subject Access Request (SAR) – (Requests for information for insurance reports or legal action) we have revised our SAR procedures to meet the 30-day timeframe for responses to third party requestors provided there is appropriate patient consent. Our new procedures detail how to verify the data subject, what steps to take for processing an access request, and what exemptions apply.
- Privacy Policy – we have revised our Privacy Policy to comply with the GDPR, ensuring that all individuals whose personal information we process are informed of why we need it, how it is used, what their rights are.
- Summary Care Record – Consent or Rescind – Patients are requested upon registration if they agree to participate in Summary Care Records. This means that any medically pertinent information is able to be shared with other health care professionals who are providing care for our patients. Patients can decline to give consent and this will be recorded clearly in their record.
- Obtaining Consent ” we have revised our consent mechanisms for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their information. We have developed a simple process to withdraw consent at any time.
Any patient over 16 must give written consent for any family member who will need to have access to medical information. If consent is not given we will be unable to share ay information with parents or care givers.
If you have any questions about our compliance with GDPR, please contact your surgery.
Proxy Access
Pennfields has a large number of patients who book their appointments, request repeat medication and can view certain parts of their medical records online.
Patient Access have now improved their system to allow parents and Carers to be authorised to all of the above-mentioned functions for children or the people they care for.
Any patient or Carer wishing to have proxy access will need to sign up to this service by completing a form available at the Practice Reception.