Confidentiality

To provide you with the care you need we hold the details of your consultations, illnesses, tests, prescriptions and other treatments that have been recorded by everyone involved in your care and treatment.  This information may be stored on paper or electronically on computer files by practice staff. 

We sometimes disclose some of your personal health information to other organisations involved in your care.  For example, when you are referred to the hospital we send relevant details about you in the referral letter and receive information about you from them.  Our practice also participates in regional and national programmes such as the cervical cytology screening service and your name, address, date of birth and health number will be given to them in order to send an invitation to you.

We need to use some of your personal health information for administrative purposes.  In order to receive payment for services provided to you, we have to disclose basic details about you to NHS Lincolnshire and other NHS agencies.  These organisations have a role in protecting public funds and are authorised to check that payments are being properly made.  We are required to co-operate with these checks and the disclosure of your data is a necessary part of our provision of health care services.

Sometimes we may participate in studies that are designed to improve the way services are provided to you or to check that our performance meets required standards and benchmarks.  Whenever we take part in such activities we will ensure that, as far as possible, any details that may identify you are not disclosed. 

We are sometimes involved in health research and the teaching of student nurses, doctors or other health professionals.  We will not use or disclose your personal health information for these purposes unless you have been informed beforehand and given your consent for us to do so.

Where you need a service jointly provided with a local authority we will seek your permission before giving them your details.  Sometimes we are required by law to pass on information, eg the notification of births, deaths and certain diseases or crimes to the government.

Our use of your personal health information is covered by a duty of confidentiality and is regulated by the Data Protection Act.  This Act gives you a number of rights in relation to how your personal information is used, including a right to access the information we hold about you.  Should you wish to access this information, please contact the practice manager.

We record all telephone calls for training purposes.

Suggestions & Complaints

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.  Concerns are often best dealt with when they arise, so we would encourage you first to explain your problem or suggestion to a member of staff who knows you and your situation (such as a doctor).  In many cases it should be possible to sort out the problem straight away by talking to the person you have already been dealing with or, perhaps, the practice manager.  Most complaints are straightforward, and can be quickly rectified or an explanation can be given. 

Our practice complaints procedure is compliant with the NHS complaints procedure and has been designed to be fair, flexible and conciliatory so that difficulties can be settled as quickly as possible.

How to complain

Complaints should be made as soon as possible after the event.  They are treated in confidence, will not be filed on your medical records and will not affect your treatment in any way.  If someone else (eg a relative or friend) complains on your behalf, we will need your written consent for that person to act for you.  You may complain verbally, in writing or electronically.

If you wish to make a formal complaint, please do so as soon as possible - ideally within a matter of a few days as this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.  If that’s not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem.  You should address your complaint to the practice manager, Mrs Bronya Glet, using the attached form or by writing your own letter.  The practice manager will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way.  

If you wish to make a complaint in writing please print our complaints form and bring it in to the surgery.

What we will do

We aim to acknowledge all formal complaints within three working days and a full investigation will take place.  The practice manager will provide you with a full response, which should usually be within ten working days.  If it’s not possible to respond within this timescale, you will be contacted and told regularly what is happening.  A full response should include:

• An apology, if appropriate
• A detailed answer to each part of your complaint
• An offer of a meeting with you, if appropriate
• Details of any action that has been taken to prevent the problem happening again

Other routes

Whilst we hope that you will address your complaint to the practice directly, you may, if you prefer, address your complaint to NHS Lincolnshire instead.  NHS Lincolnshire will forward the complaint to us at the practice for us to investigate in the normal way: 

NHS Lincolnshire, Cross O’Cliff, Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, LN4 2HN 

Telephone:  01522 515370 or 01522 515319

Fax:  01522 515382

Email:  complaints@lpct.nhs.uk

www.lpct.nhs.uk/Get-Involved/Complaints

The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) can help if you want to make a complaint about NHS services:

ICAS (East Midlands), Unit 14, Evans Business Centre, Gateway Park, Roman Way, Lincoln, LN6 9UH

Telephone:  0300 456 8347

Fax:  01522 705131

Email:  lincolnicas@carersfederation.co.uk

www.carersfederation.co.uk

Taking it further

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint you may refer the matter to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, London,    SW1P 4QP

Telephone:  0345 0154033

www.ombudsman.org.uk

Complaining on behalf of someone else

We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality (a separate leaflet giving more detail on confidentiality is available on request).  If you are not the patient, but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so.  An authority signed by the patient concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this.

Download the Third Party Consent Form

Rights & Responsibilities

• You will be treated with courtesy and respect by our staff and doctors. Please treat them with the same courtesy and respect; they are doing their best to help you.
• Please attend surgery in good time. If this is not possible, let us know in advance so that someone else can have your appointment.
• Appointments are for one patient only.
• We reserve the right to remove from our list any patient who is violent to our staff or other patients or who displays anti-social behaviour on our premises.
• We strive to continuously improve the range and quality of our services and to minimise errors. We will keep you informed of changes to our services via newsletters and our website.

Our Commitment to You

We will respond to the needs of the local population and the preferences of individual patients, their families and carers. We will provide a comprehensive range of primary care services to all, based on clinical need.

We will work continuously to improve quality services and to minimise errors, working with others to ensure a seamless service to patients. We will work to keep people healthy and reduce health inequalities. We will respect confidentiality and provide easy access to information about services, treatment and performance.

The surgery will work better if you use our services responsibly

Do what you can to look after your own health and follow advice on a healthy lifestyle. Care for yourself when appropriate – treating yourself and your family at home for common illnesses such as coughs, colds and sore throats. Give blood, carry an organ donor card or special needs card/ bracelet.

Treat practice staff politely and with respect – we will not accept harassment or violence. Keep your appointment or cancel it. Book routine appointments in plenty of time. Return equipment that is no longer needed. Pay NHS prescription charges when they are due.

Can I access my medical records?

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, living individuals are entitled to seek access to their own medical records.

Where the patient is a child under 16, any person with parental responsibility may apply for access to the records. Where the child is considered capable of making decisions about his/her medical treatment, the consent of the child must be sought before a person with parental responsibility can be given access. Where the child patient is not capable of understanding the nature of the application, the GP is entitled to deny access if it were not felt to be in the patient’s best interests. If the child lacks the capacity to understand the nature of the application but access would in his/her best interest, access may be granted. A doctor will decide whether the child is deemed capable.

Rights of access to the records of deceased patients are set out in the Access to Health Records Act 1990. The records of deceased patients are returned to NHS Lincolnshire

Can I see my whole record?

Certain information contained in your record may not be disclosed, including:

• Information which relates to an identifiable third party, such as a relative
• Information which would be likely to cause serious harm to the patient or another person
• Information that the patient had provided either on the understanding or with an express indication that it would remain confidential
• Information about a test or result if the patient had expected the results to remain confidential
• Information which reveals whether an identifiable individual was, or may have been, born as a result of fertility treatment
• Information about adoption records, a child’s special educational needs,or parental order records/reports.

How do I access my medical records?

Formal applications for access must be in writing and accompanied by the appropriate fee. Please hand in your request and fee to the receptionist for the attention of the practice manager.

How much will it cost?

Because it takes a lot of our time to comply with the legislation, particularly for a GP to review the record to ensure that no information is released which may not be released, we make the following charges:

To provide access and copies:

Fully computerised records = £10

Manual or part-manual/part-computerised records = maximum fee of £50

To allow patients to read their records (where no copies are required):

Fully computerised records = £10

Part-manual/part-computerised records = £10

Fully manual records = £10

(unless nothing has been added to the record in the last 40 days prior to the request, when no charge can be made to view records).

How long will it take?

We will aim to comply with your request within 21 days.