Handsworth Medical Practice - Surgery policies on confidentiality, comments and suggestions, data protection etc

Privacy Notice

Click to view the Practice's Privacy Notice

Confidentiality

Our Practice complies with Data Protection, GDPR 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. All staff have received training in confidentiality issues.

Freedom of Information

The ICO has published a Model Publication Scheme that all public authorities are required to adopt.

Model Publication Scheme - Further Information

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Telephone Calls

Please note all telephone calls into and out of the Practice are recorded for training and quality purposes. These recordings are kept securely for up to a 3-year period, and then deleted.

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Your Records and Record Sharing

Please see the links on the right hand side of this web page for information about Shared Care and Summary Care Record.

Please click on the link below for the NHS webpage for information about patient clinical records and record sharing:

NHS - Patient Records

Comments & Complaints

If you are unhappy, disappointed or have any suggestions on how we can improve our service, please tell us. Alternatively, if you think we are doing well in a particular area or a member of staff has been helpful to you, then please contact us and let us know.

You can talk to our Reception Supervisor, Keeley Widdowson, on our Practice telephone number 0114 2697505 or 0114 2889777.

You can also forward your comments / suggestions in the ways below:

in writing and hand it in to reception, or post to Handsworth Medical Practice, 432 Handsworth Road, Sheffield, S13 9BZ
email our Practice email - sheccg.handsworthmedicalpractice@nhs.net
send your comments / suggestions via this website in the Contact Details section in the top bar of the webpage
complete a comments card and put it in the comments box in our reception areas

Complaints

If your problem cannot be sorted by speaking with a staff member, to make a written complaint please let us know as soon as possible. Ideally, this should be within a matter of days or at the most a few weeks. In this way it helps to establish what happened more easily.

If this is not possible, please let us have details of your complaint within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem, or 12 months of the incident coming to your attention.

How we will deal with your complaint

When we look into your complaint we aim to:

Acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days
Agree timescales for a response to be sent to you
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 you receive an apology where this is appropriate
Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn't happen again
Investigate and resolve the complaint within 30 days of receiving the complaint, although this may sometimes be longer

We ask that you contact us first to try and resolve your complaint, but you can complain to an external organisation as below.

External complaint organisations:

NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board
FAO Complaints Team
722 Prince of Wales Road
Darnall
Sheffield
S9 4EU

Tel: 0114 3051000 (main reception), and ask for a member of the complaints team to call you back

Email: Syicb-sheffield.icbcomplaints@nhs.net

Complaints Team
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Reddich, B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 2233
Email: contactus@nhs.net
Website: www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/

If you feel that your complaint has not been resolved you can contact:

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
30 Millbank
Westminster
London, SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk/

Help and Support Available:

NHS Complaints Advocacy
Website: www.nhscomplaintsadvocacy.org
Tel: 0300 3305454

Sheffield Advocacy Hub
NHS complaints Advocacy
Website: www.sheffieldadvocacyhub.org.uk/
Tel: 0800 0350396
Email: info@sheffieldadvocacyhub.org.uk

Violent Patients

Violence and abuse is a growing concern. Doctors and their staff have the right to care for others without the fear of being attacked or abused. The right of the practice to remove a violent patient will be extended to safeguard all those who might have reasonable fears for their safety, this includes practice staff, other patients and other bystanders present when the act of violence is committed or the behaviour took place. Violence includes actual or threatening physical violence or verbal abuse leading to fearing for a person's safety.

We ask that you treat your GP and the Practice Staff with respect.

Standards of Service

All our patients will be treated equally and their personal dignity respected at all times.
Patients have the right to personal privacy throughout their treatment. A separate room is available at all times to talk to Practice Staff in private.
All members of the Practice Team will have regular training and education to maintain our standard of service.
We will keep you informed about the services we provide through this website, and leaflets and displays/posters within the waiting rooms. We will also provide you with information concerning waiting times for hospital admissions and referral to an outpatient clinic or service when necessary.
Patients will have access to their own medical records in accordance with the Access to Health Records Act 1991, Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the 2002 Guide to the NHS.
Patients will receive full information concerning the nature of their medical condition and treatment (including associated risks) investigations or procedures and alternatives available, before agreement on a course of action is reached. The patient has the right to refuse or terminate a service or treatment after full discussion.
Patients have the right to be referred to a Consultant of their choice when your doctor thinks it is necessary and to be referred for a second opinion if you and your doctor agree this is desirable.
We will investigate all complaints fully and within specified time limits. The outcome of the investigation will always be notified to the patient - please ask to see our Complaints Procedure Leaflet.
The surgery premises will be maintained to comply with Health and Safety legislation. Disabled access and disabled toilets are available. Baby changing facilities are also available.
Confidentiality - All information given to the doctors and staff will be treated in confidence.
If you change to a new Medical Practice we will transfer your medical records to Primary Care Support England, who will then send your records to your new Medical Practice.

Patients' Responsibilities

To look after your health; take regular exercise, cut down on fatty foods, cut down on alcohol and stop smoking.
To request night visits only when it is truly necessary and home visits by the doctor only when the patient is too ill to visit the Practice. To recognise that attending the Practice can often have social and mobility benefits, particularly for the Elderly and that there are few circumstances where a child cannot be brought to the Practice.
To inform us if unable to keep an appointment in plenty of time, so that the appointment can be made available to another patient.
To read and act upon information provided on various matters, e.g., requests by the doctors to see them before issuing further medication, health promotion leaflets etc.
To ensure that you give us at least 48 hours notice for repeat prescriptions when collection from Practice; 5 working days notice if collecting from the chemist.
To not expect a prescription without consultation.
To co-operate with the Practice to ensure that children's behaviour in the Practice does not endanger their safety.
To treat doctors and staff with respect and courtesy. A Staff Complaints procedure is in operation, which gives members of staff the opportunity to complain about aggressive or abusive patients. These complaints will be investigated and the outcome notified to the patient and staff member involved.
To listen and follow advice given to you. If you are unsure about anything, please ask questions.
The Surgery, will be kept warm in winter, cool in summer, clean and tidy. Please help us to keep it that way for the benefit of all patients and staff.

Medical Records

Patient's have the right to view / request copies of their medical records. You can do this in a number of ways:

If you are registered for SystmOnline on the internet, you can request through the SystmOnline website. Any patients who are not registered for SystmOnline and wish to do so, please come into the Practice and ask a receptionist to sign you up. You will need to bring in photo ID when you do this

You can pick up an Access to Health Records Form from one of our receptions, complete the form and return it to us, or telephone us for the form

GP Earnings

All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each Practice. The average pay for GPs working in Handsworth Medical Practice in the last financial year was £72,850 before tax and national insurance. This is for 1 full time GP, 4 part time GPs and 2 locums who worked in the practice for more than six months.