Practice Policies & Patient Information
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.
Allocated GP
From 1st April 2015, all practices are required to allocate a named accountable GP to all patients. Our patients will be assigned a named GP and we can advise you of who this upon request. This will not in any way affect you accessing any member of our clinical team
Appointment Policy
Click here to view our appointment Policy
Chaperones
You can have a chaperone for any consultation, examination or procedure if you would like one. A chaperone can be a friend, family member or a trained healthcare professional such as a practice nurse. You do not have to accept a particular person offered to you as a chaperone. If you have asked for a chaperone but there is no-one immediately available you can re-schedule your appointment.
Complaints
We 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.
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.
Click here to download our Data Protection Act and Patient Information
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 here
Click here to Download a copy of the patient leaflet
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.
General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR
Data protection rules update – GPDR what does it mean for patients?
What is GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest update to the Data Protection Act 1998 regulation and will apply from 25th May 2018. The legislation strengthens existing requirements, introduces new concepts and imposes greater emphasis on demonstrating compliance and significantly greater penalties for wrongdoings.
What are your rights?
Your fundamental rights have not changed, but they have been enhanced. As an individual you have the right to:
- Know what data is collected about you, what it is used for, how long it will be kept and who it is shared with
- Accessyour personal data
- Request that inaccurate data about you is corrected or that incomplete data is completed
- Ask for personal data held about you to be removed from your records (This is likely to exclude information that is necessary to your care)
- Restrict processing of your personal data which means you can limit how your data is used by us
- Data portability (this is new) – allows individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services (ICO, no date)
- Object to the processing or use of your personal data
- To not be subject to automated decision-making including profiling
More information about your rights can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website: click here
Please note that the practice does not assume any responsibility for the information detailed on the ICO website.
Our duty
Our duty as a data controller is to share with you how we intend to use your information. This intention is detailed within a privacy notice that is available in the Surgery as well as here. Please see the resources below.
Click here to view our Covid Privacy Notice
The Data protection regulations are changing on the 25th May 2018, with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018, to ensure that we are inline with these changes please see the updated documents below.
In light of the current crisis, we have received updated legal requirements with regard to COVID-19. Please see COVID-19 privacy notice for further details.
This practice is supporting vital coronavirus (COVID-19) planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see the General Practice Transparency Notice for GPES Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19) by clicking here
Policies
Click here to view our Recruitment Privacy Policy
Click here to view our Practice Privacy Policy
Click here to view our Medical Centre Privacy Policy
How do we use your information?
Click here to view how we use your information leaflet
Click here to view how we use your information poster
Click here to view GDPR Poster
NHS Digital General Practice Data for Planning and Research
This practice is supporting vital health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see our Privacy Notice above.
Further information can be found on the NHS Digital website by clicking here
This collection will start on 01 September 2021.
If you do not want your data to be shared with NHS Digital, please register your Type 1 opt-out with us BEFORE the end of August 2021.
What data is shared:
Data may be shared from the GP medical records about:
- any living patient registered at a GP practice in England when the collection started – this includes children and adults
- any patient who died after 1 July 2021, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started
NHS Digital will not collect patients’ names or addresses. Any other data that could directly identify patients (such as NHS Number, date of birth, full postcode) is replaced with unique codes which are produced by de-identification software before the data is shared with NHS Digital.
This process is called pseudonymisation and means that patients will not be identified directly in the data. NHS Digital will be able to use the software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify patients in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason.
If you would prefer that your identifiable patient data is only shared for your own health care purposes, you can opt-out by Clicking here
Further information is available below:
Click here for National Opt out guidance for young people
Click here for National opt out advice for carers
Click here for National Opt out advice in large print
Click here for National Opt out easy read
GP Net Earnings
The average pay for GP’s working at the Zulu Road Medical Centre in 2022-23 was £149,508 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full time GP.
The NHS Constitution
The NHS is there for us from the moment we are born. It takes care of us and our family members when we need it most.
The NHS Constitution has been created to protect the NHS and make sure it will always do the things it was set up to do in 1948 – to provide high-quality healthcare that’s free and for everyone.
No government can change the Constitution without the full involvement of staff, patients and the public. The Constitution is a promise that the NHS will always be there for you.
Click here to download the NHS Constitution
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.