Confidentiality & Medical Records
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 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.
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.
Complaints
Our aim is to provide highest possible standard of service but occasionally there may be aspects of our service you may wish to complain or raise a concern about.
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know.
Certain problems can be sorted out with discussion with a doctor during consultation. If you are still unhappy you can make a formal complaint in writing to practice manager who can give you a copy of complaint procedure and will do their best to deal with it immediately.
How to Complain: If you do decide to make a formal complaint, letters should be addressed to the Practice Manager. We will then acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 2 working days. Investigate your complaint. Offer to meet with you to discuss the matter in more detail, if this is appropriate.
The aim of the Complaints Procedure is, wherever possible, to resolve problems locally. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you should contact: The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, 1 Ffordd Yr Hen Gae, Pencoed,CF35 5LJ. Tel:0845 6010987.
You can also contact Community Health Council on 01639 683490 for any help regarding filing a complaint.
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.