Practice Policies & Patient Information
Complaints
Comments, Complaints and Suggestions
Our aim is to provide the highest level of care for all our patients. We will always be willing to hear if there is any way that you think that we can improve the service we provide. We emphasise that it will approach complaints in a non-discriminatory manner and therefore patients will not be discriminated against when complaints are made. The Practice will ensure that all patients, carers and relatives are not treated adversely regardless of the nature of the complaint made, as we feel you have the right to let us know if you feel there are issues to be addressed.
Making a complaint
If you have any complaints or concerns about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working for this practice, please let us know.
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
- Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
- Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided that is within 12 months of the incident.
The Practice Manager, Mrs Sara Atkinson or the Team Leader, Mr Richard Harland, will be pleased to deal with any complaint. Reception will explain the procedure to you and make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. You can make your complaint:
In person – ask to speak to The Practice Manager, Mrs Sara Atkinson or Team Leader Richard Harland, if they are available, or alternatively please hand in or post your written complaint, which we will then respond to.
In writing – give as much information as you can, then send your complaint to the practice for the attention of Mrs Sara Atkinson, The Practice Manager as soon as possible .
What you can do next:
We hope that if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting things right whatever has gone wrong, and the opportunity to take on board your feedback to improve our practice.
If you remain dissatisfied with the responses to your complaint, you have the right to escalate your complaint further to:
Patient Experience Team
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board
Sir John Robinson House,
Sir John Robinson Way,
Arnold,
Nottingham
NG5 6DA
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0115 8839570
Website: Patient Experience and Complaints – NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
or:
Ombudsman
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London,
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 0154033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
For help and support with a complaint you can contact –
NHS Complaints Advocacy 0300 020 0093
Help us get it right
We constantly try to improve the service we offer. Please let us know when you think we have done something well or if you have any suggestions as to how we can do something better
Bridgeway Practice,
Meadows Health Centre,
Meadows,
Nottingham,
NG2 2JG
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.
Data Choices
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
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation 2016)
The medical records of NHS England’s 61 million users are set to be gathered in a new centralised database as part of a new scheme called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR). NHS Digital all the data will be used to: inform and develop health and social care policy, plan and commission health and care services, take steps to protect public health such as managing the Covid-19 pandemic, enable research, and provide individual care in exceptional cases.
The database will not include names or addresses, or any other data that could directly identify a patient like their NHS number, date of birth, or postcode. NHS Digital will allow the information to remain confidential when it’s accessed by third parties within the healthcare industry. The data will only be accessible to organisations with a legitimate need for it who match up to stringent criteria, and that the database will never be used for insurance or marketing purposes, promoting or selling products or services, market research or advertising.
The information set to be included in the database includes data about: sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, diagnoses, symptoms, observations, test results, medications, allergies, immunisations, referrals, recalls and appointments, including information about physical,
Further information
GP Net Earnings
The average pay for GPs working in the Bridgeway Medical Practice in the last financial year was £117,174 before tax and national insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs and 2 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months
It should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice, it should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make a comparison with any other practice.
In view of the fact that there are few hard and fast guidelines in place we must issue a disclaimer against any actions which may or may not be taken with regard to the publication of this information.
Named Accountable GP
You may already be aware that by March 2016 practices are required to provide all their patients with a named GP who will have overall responsibility for the care and support that the practice provides to them.
Your named GP has been allocated to you by the practice. If you have a repeat prescription you can find the name of your allocated GP at the bottom of this. If you do not have a repeat prescription and you wish to know who your allocated GP is, please contact the practice on 0115 986 1128.
Please note – You can still talk to or make appointments to see any of our doctors or nurses, not just your named GP. If you have a preference to a particular GP other than the one allocated at registration, please talk to one of our receptionists who will pass your request over to the Practice Manager for re-allocation.
All new registrations will be informed at registration of their accountable and named GP.
Practice Mission, Values & Aims Statement
OUR MISSION
To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research.
OUR VALUES
- We listen: we engage with everyone we work with | we are united | we are always positive
- We care: everyone is valued, respected and developed | knowledge and skills are nurtured | success is celebrated
- We act: clear goals and the right resources | freedom coupled with accountability | emphasis on simplicity
- We improve: we are creative, resourceful and innovative | integration & collaboration is the way forward | we’re always striving to do better
- Putting patients at the heart of everything we do. Providing the highest standard of care and treatment.
- Nobody is excluded, discriminated, or left behind. We try our best to help all even in difficult situations.
Privacy Notices
Summary Care Record
There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Why do I need a Summary Care Record?
Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.
This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.
Who can see it?
Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.
How do I know if I have one?
Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our interactive map or by asking your GP
Do I have to have one?
No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.
More Information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website
Text Message Reminders
You can now register to receive information by text message on your phone regarding appointments and health care.
If you wish to register for this messaging service please fill out the consent form.
New Data Protection Regulations from May 2018 (GDPR)
Under the new data protection regulations introduced from 25th May 2018, we will continue to contact patients via text messages regarding the delivery of care if they have provided consent to do so.
If practices are sending messages about recommended treatment for the management of a specific health issue, then this is defined as providing appropriate care for patients, not marketing purposes.
If you would like ot opt out of any future contact via text messaging, then please complete the form and indicate in the marked section.
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.