Noticeboard

Practice Policies

Confidentiality & Medical Records

Locked blue folderThe 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 Practioners 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.

Accessing your Medical Records

You may want to see your medical records because you are unhappy with your treatment or because you want to check that they are accurate or simply because you are curious.

The 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA) came into effect in March 2000 and largely replaces the 1990 Access to Health Records Act

Under the Data Protection Act you can see and obtain copies of your medical records, which may be held in manual files or on the computer, regardless of when they were recorded.

The medical records of people who have died are still covered under the Access to Health Records Act 1990 and you can only see information in their records recorded after 1 November 1991.

How to apply for Access

You should write to the record holder (usually your doctor, dentist or hospital records department).  You may be asked to fill in an application form and give proof of your identity.

Who can apply to see my Medical Records?

  • You
  • Any person to whom you have given written authorisation.

A relative or carer may be allowed to see your records if: -

  • You are under the age of 16
  • You are unable to look after your own affairs
  • You have died.

What does it cost?

If you want to view your records you must book an appointment to do this.

You can pay up to £50 to obtain copies of manual records or a mixture of manual and computer records.

How long does it take?

It will take up to 7 days if you request photocopies of your records.

Complaints

Customer service formWe make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.

Violence Policy

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.



 
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