Practice Policies & Patient Information
Comments, Complaints and Suggestions
We aim to offer a friendly, personal, comprehensive and high standard of family health care to all our patients. We always welcome your feedback and value your comments and suggestions. Please get in touch either with our Practice Manager Wendy Page by telephone or email. We endeavour to listen to your comments and act appropriately on the constructive feedback to deliver the best for you and your family. All complaints are acknowledged within 3 working days and investigated within 15 working days. Every patient has the right to make a complaint about the treatment or care they have received at Bridge View Medical Group. We understand that we may not always get everything right and, by telling us about the problem you have encountered, we will be able to improve our services and patient experience. Most complaints can be resolved at a local level. Please speak to a member of staff if you have a complaint; our staff are trained to handle complaints. Alternatively, ask to speak to the complaint’s manager, Wendy Page, Practice Manager. A complaint can be made verbally or in writing. A complaints form is available from reception. Additionally, you can complain via email to the address shown on the reverse of the leaflet. If for any reason you do not want to speak to a member of our staff, then you can request that NHS England investigates your complaint. They will contact us on your behalf: NHS England The time constraint on bringing a complaint is 12 months from the occurrence giving rise to the complaint, or 12 months from the time you become aware of the matter about which you wish to complain. The complaints manager will respond to all complaints within three business days. We will aim to investigate and provide you with the findings as soon as we can and will provide regular updates regarding the investigation of your complaint. Bridge View Medical Group will investigate all complaints effectively and in conjunction with extant legislation and guidance. Bridge View Medical Group will ensure that all complaints are investigated with the utmost confidentiality and that any documents are held separately from the patient’s healthcare record. Bridge View Medical Group allows a third party to make a complaint on behalf of a patient. The patient must provide consent for them to do so. A third-party patient complaint form is available from reception. Bridge View Medical Group will issue a final formal response to all complainants, which will provide full details and the outcome of the complaint. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint from either NHS England or this organisation, then you can escalate your complaint to: Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Tel: 0345 015 4033Talk to Us…
Who to Talk to…
PO BOX 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
03003 112233
england.contactus@nhs.netTime Frames for Complaints
Investigating Complaints
Confidentiality
Third Party Complaints
Final Response
Advocacy Support
Further Action
Milbank Tower
Milbank
London, SW1P 4QP
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
GDPR – Privacy Notice
Privacy Notice: How We Use Your Information
The Practice is computerised which improves the efficiency and service offered to patients. All the information is treated in strict confidence and the Practice is registered with the Data Protection Association. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) We’re making it easier for you to find out how we handle your information A new data privacy law is being introduced later this year in the UK; as a result we now have a new Privacy Notice effective from 25th May 2018. To make it easier for you to understand how we protect and use your personal information within the Health service. We are not changing the ways that we use personal information but our new notice will provide you with some additional advice such as: This privacy notice explains why as a Practice we collect information about our patients and how we use that information. Bridge View Medical Group manages patient information in accordance with existing laws and with guidance from organisations that govern the provision of healthcare in England such as the Department of Health and the General Medical Council. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with: Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we hold data centrally, we take strict and secure measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified. Information may be used for clinical audit purposes to monitor the quality of service provided, and may be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this we ensure that patient records cannot be identified. Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for clinical research purposes – the practice will always endeavour to gain your consent before releasing the information. Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare providers with the objective of providing you with better care. Patients can choose to withdraw their consent to their data being used in this way. When the practice is about to participate in any new data-sharing scheme we will make patients aware by displaying prominent notices in the surgery and on our website at least four weeks before the scheme is due to start. We will also explain clearly what you have to do to ‘opt-out’ of each new scheme. A patient can object to their personal information being shared with other health care providers but if this limits the treatment that you can receive then the doctor will explain this to you at the time. If you provide us with your mobile phone number we may use this to send you text reminders about any appointments or other health screening information being carried out. Risk stratification is a process for identifying and managing patients who are at high risk of requiring emergency or urgent care. Typically this is because patients have a long term condition such as COPD, cancer or other medical condition at risk of sudden worsening. NHS England (the national Commissioning Board) encourages GPs to use risk stratification tools as part of their local strategies for supporting patients with long-term conditions and to provide care plans and planned care with the aim to prevent avoidable admissions or other emergency care. Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts and from this GP practice. A risk score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified information using software provided by EMIS as the data processor and is provided back in an identifiable form to your GP or member of your care team as data controller. Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on preventing ill health and not just the treatment of sickness. If necessary your GP may be able to offer you additional services. Please note that you have the right to opt out of Risk Stratification. Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed, or wish to opt out of any data collection at the practice, please contact the practice, or your healthcare professional to discuss how the disclosure of your personal information can be limited. Patients have the right to change their minds and reverse a previous decision. Please contact the practice, if you change your mind regarding any previous choice. If you have received treatment within the NHS your personal information may be shared within a strictly monitored, secure and confidential environment in order to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group should pay for the treatment or procedure you have received. Information such as your name, address and date of treatment may be passed on to enable the billing process – these details are held in a secure environment and kept confidential. This information will only be used to validate invoices, and will not be shared for any further commissioning purposes. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (which is overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office), Human Rights Act, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security. Every staff member who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to maintain the confidentiality of patient information. All of our staff, contractors and committee members receive appropriate and regular training to ensure they are aware of their personal responsibilities and have legal and contractual obligations to uphold confidentiality, enforceable through disciplinary procedures. Only a limited number of authorised staff have access to personal information where it is appropriate to their role and is strictly on a need-to-know basis. We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), or where the law requires information to be passed on. We may also have to share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, with the following organisations: Necessary for the purpose of preventative or occupational medicine for assessing the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of Union or members state law or a contract with a health professional. You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access/view information the practice holds about you, and to have it amended or removed should it be inaccurate. This is known as ‘the right of subject access’. If we do hold information about you we will: Data Subject Access Request Form The practice has a minimum of 1 calendar month to respond to your completed request. The practice is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. It is important that you tell the person treating you if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details such as date of birth is incorrect in order for this to be amended. You have a responsibility to inform us of any changes so our records are accurate and up to date for you. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires organisations to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal and sensitive information. This information is publicly available on the Information Commissioner’s Office website www.ico.org.uk. The practice is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and our registration number is Z7175086. The Data Controller, responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential are the GP partners of Bridge View Medical Group. Any changes to this will be published on our website and displayed in prominent notices in the surgery. The Partnership is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. Further information about the way in which the NHS uses personal information and your rights in that respect can be found in:How We Use Your Data
Privacy Notice: How We Use Your Information
Mobile Telephone
Risk Satisfaction
Invoice Validation
How Do We Maintain the Confidentiality of Your Records?
Who Are Our Partner Organisations?
Lawful Reasons for Processing Special Category Data
Access to Personal Information
Change of Details
Notification
Who is the Data Controller?
Further Information
Violence and Aggression
We operate a zero-tolerance policy towards violence and aggression. Any patient who behaves in a fashion that can be classed as aggressive or violent towards any member of our practice or patient of the practice, on or off the premises, will be instantly removed from the patient list and may be reported to the police.
Your Health Records Data
How Patients Can Opt-Out
- Type 1 Opt-out* – a nationally produced form has been produced which patients can fill in and send to the practice (by post or email).
Click here to view the form. Apply relevant code in grey box below. - National Data Opt-out – Visit the NHS website or use the NHS App (instructions below)
- & 4. Primary Use Opt-out – we would suggest patients contact the surgery reception to perhaps speak to the practice manager/deputy practice manager to discuss this. Patients should be aware of the impact this may have before the opt out is applied. If they still wish to go ahead then code as appropriate using below codes.
* this may be changing to provide patients with a single data opt out pending some national consultation
How data in your GP record is used and how you can control the use (opt-out)
As a practice, we fully respect your right as a patient to control your data. We outline our privacy policy here in more detail on our website and explain how we share data with other providers, including the Great North Care Record and NHS Digital for secondary use. You have the right to opt-out at any time from data being shared.
Your data is used in broadly two different ways:
- To provide you with care. This is called “Primary Use“
- To allow for planning and research to be done. This is called “Secondary Use“
Both uses will only be made where it is considered secure and appropriate to use patient data.
Opting-out of data sharing is an option for all patients, however it is not without potential downsides. For Primary Use data, if you opt-out and need care in a local hospital, for example, it may be much harder for the staff to access important medical information about you needed to provide safe and effective care. For Secondary Use, the downsides are more indirect. If everyone in the country were to opt-out, it would make it much harder to ensure funding is used in the NHS to develop services where they are needed. It would also be harder to develop new treatments.
It is possible to opt-out of specific parts of data sharing, while keeping some elements of data sharing in place. It is very common, for example, for people who have privacy concerns about Secondary Use, to be happy to continue sharing data for Primary Use/Direct Care.
The details below summarises what ‘opt-outs’ are possible, and how to request them:
How data in your GP record is used, and how you can control the use
Primary Use: sharing your data for your direct care
Who it is shared with
Summary Care Record
Great North Care Record
How it is used
These are used by NHS hospitals and other providers (e.g. midwives) to ensure they have the data needed to provide you with the right care
How to Opt Out
Opt out through your GP practice – contact the surgery reception to speak to the practice manager/deputy practice manager to discuss this and we will be able to apply the opt-out
Secondary Use: using your data to design health services and do health research
Who it is shared with
Local NHS Organisations (such as CCGs)
How it is used
using data to plan how to design local services around the needs of the population
How to Opt Out
Use a ‘type-1 Opt Out’ – Please send this form to the practice by email to:
sunccg.bridgeviewmedicalgroup@nhs.net
NHS Digital
using data to plan how to design National services around the needs of the population
Use a ‘type-1 Opt Out’ – Please send this form to the practice by emailed to:
sunccg.bridgeviewmedicalgroup@nhs.net
External Research Organisations
using data for various research purposes
Use the National Data Opt-out – Visit the NHS website or use the NHS App
How to manage your sharing preferences using the NHS App
You can view or change your current preference at any time.
- Go to Your health
- Select Choose if data from your health and care records is shared for planning and research.
- Select Make your choice.
- Review the information on the page, then select Start now.
- View your preference, then select Change if you want to change it.
- Update your choice, then select Submit.
You can also visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters