The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

The practice complies with data protection 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.

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

GDPR Policy

Uplands Medical Practice operates a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our system meets national criteria.

Our aim is to give you the highest possible standard of service and we try to deal with all the complaints as quickly as possible and within 90 days.

Complaints can be made in writing to the practice manager, Malisha Fatima, via email at BUCCG.UplandsMedicalPractice@nhs.net. Alternatively, please pass your telephone number on to a staff member so Malisha can call you back to discuss your concerns.

Alternatively, you can download our ‘complaints & comments’ leaflet here.

We very much welcome any suggestions for service improvement.

Please note due to sensitive information that may be contained and shared; we do not exchange responses by email.

We hope that if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve the services provided by our practice.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint at a local level you can ask the Ombudsman to independently review your case by writing to:

The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Email: Phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Phone: 0345 015 4033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Although the practice would welcome the opportunity to investigate your complaint, you may prefer to choose to make your complaint to NHS England; details as follows:

Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
Contact Number: 0300 311 2233

Postal address:
NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

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 letter signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

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 at the surgery in the last financial year before tax and National Insurance was £59,488. This is for 3 part time GPs and 4 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Your Data Matters to the NHS

Information about your health and care helps us to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

How your data is used

Information about your individual care such as treatment and diagnoses is collected about you whenever you use health and care services. It is also used to help us and other organisations for research and planning such as research into new treatments, deciding where to put GP clinics and planning for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital.  It is only used in this way when there is a clear legal basis to use the information to help improve health and care for you, your family and future generations.

Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

You have a choice

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?

No, choosing to opt out will not affect how information is used to support your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you do not need to do anything.

To find out more about the benefits of data sharing, how data is protected, or to make/change your opt-out choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters

Download a copy of the patient leaflet