Under the Data Protection Act 2018 you have a right to know who holds personal information about you. This person or organisation is called the data controller. In the NHS, the data controller is usually your local NHS board and your GP surgery. The NHS must keep your personal health information confidential. It is your right.

Please be aware that our staff are bound to the NHS code of confidentiality. Our staff are therefore not permitted to discuss any of our patient’s medical history, this includes their registration status, without their written consent to do so.

Once we have received their written consent and verified this with the patient, then we can provide you with this information, this includes complaining on behalf of a patient, but excludes patients who are unable to act on their own behalf and already have a designated person or carer responsible for their medical care.

We therefore respectfully ask parents and guardians not to request information regarding their relatives or to complain on their behalf unless we have their written consent to do so.

The NHS is the UK’s state health service which provides treatment for UK residents. Some services are free, other have to be paid for. The regulations that govern who can and can’t receive treatment are complex and may change.

A person who is regarded as ordinarily resident in the UK is eligible for free treatment by a GP. A person is ‘ordinarily resident’ for this purpose if lawfully living in the UK for a settled purpose as part of the regular order of his or her life for the time being. Anyone coming to live in this country would qualify as ordinarily resident. Overseas visitors to the UK are not regarded as ordinarily resident if they do not meet this description.

The following NHS treatment is available to anyone:

• Treatment in an emergency (but not follow up treatment).
• Treatment of certain communicable diseases.
• Compulsory psychiatric treatment.

To qualify for other NHS treatments you must meet certain conditions which are outlined below.

EU Nationals

Foreign nations from EU member states have reciprocal arrangements for both dental and medical healthcare so can access the full range of NHS services.

Non EU nationals

Foreign nationals from non-EU countries have no automatic right to NHS healthcare (other than those outlined above). Students and visitors who are going to stay in the UK for less than 6 months would have to be seen as private patients and would have to pay for their treatment. It is therefore essential that you have medical insurance to pay for any private treatment.

If you are not a student registered at a UK university and you are not going to stay in the UK for between six months and a year, it may be unlikely that you will be able to receive free NHS Treatment.

If you are unsure of entitlement to NHS treatment, or require further information please ask the reception staff when you register, and they will advise you accordingly.

Be aware that a valid 6 month visa does not automatically confer the right to free NHS treatment.

Please note that registering with a GP does not give you automatic entitlement to access free NHS hospital treatment. It is therefore essential that you take out medical insurance for the duration of your visit prior to arrival in the UK.

If you are a student registered at a UK University (and you have documentary proof of this) and are going to stay in the UK for more than six months you will qualify for NHS treatment from the beginning of your stay and you (and your dependants) will be entitled to NHS treatment and you may register with a GP.

Medical emergencies

If you need immediate medical assistance (e.g. because of an accident) telephone 999 – the call is free. An operator will ask you which emergency service you require (fire, police or ambulance). You will need to tell the emergency services what has happened and where you are. If someone is injured and needs to go to hospital an ambulance will arrive and take them to the nearest hospital with an emergency department.

If you need urgent treatment but are well enough to travel please make your own way to the nearest Accident and Emergency Department.

We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We use your information to provide you with Health Care services, and share your information with other organisations involved in your care.

We do this under Article 6(1) and Article 9(2)(h) of the GDPR.

For further information please see the Privacy Notice document below.

You are entitled to see what information we hold about you on request.

Please keep the appointment or cancel it well in advance to allow other people to see us.

Please book urgent appointments for emergencies only.

If you feel you need a longer appointment for your problem, please tell reception at the time of booking the appointment.

If you change your name, address or telephone number please inform us as soon as possible.

Only call the Doctor out of hours if you can’t wait.

For minor ailments and injuries try the ‘Minor Injury and Minor Illness Service’ in Rugby: Hospital of St Cross site, Barby Road, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 5PX.

Be polite to the staff as they are just doing their job.

The practice operates a zero tolerance policy, any patient that is violent or abusive to any member of staff may risk being removed from the practice list.

A DNA is someone who Did Not Attend an appointment at the surgery and did not tell us beforehand. The Doctor or Nurse were waiting, but the patient did not attend. DNAs are a serious problem for the NHS. Research shows that around 13 million GP appointments and 6 million practice nurse appointments are missed each year.

At the Practice, on average, 100 patients DNA appointments each month, that’s 1200 appointments each year (the equivalent of over 15 hours of clinician time and 15 hours admin time per month) not only is this a waste of valuable administrative resources, it also means the number of appointments available for patients is reduced by each DNA that occurs.

Due to an increase in the number of wasted appointments through patients failing to attend without informing the practice, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:

• If you fail to attend three appointments without informing us, we will write to you asking if there are any specific problems preventing us from letting us know.
• If you repeatedly fail to attend for appointments, you may be removed from the practice list and have to find an alternative GP practice.

All telephone calls to and from the surgery are recorded to protect our patients and healthcare professionals. Patients are protected by the practice having a record of our conversations with patients, staff and other health workers to protect from potential abuse. We also occasionally use recordings for staff training and quality control.

For new patients, when you register with us, we will make it clear that all inbound and outbound calls from the surgery are recorded.

Calls, or transcripts of calls, audio or audio-visual recordings or elements of the discussion you have with the clinicians that contain clinical information may be added to your medical records, but this will be clarified with you at the time.

The recordings are stored securely on a system provided by X-on and are protected through the company’s Data Protection Policy, which is complaint with GDPR legislation. These recordings will not usually be shared outside the practice. If we hold recordings that have not been deleted, you can ask for a copy. In order to do this, you must put the request in writing to the Practice Manager via a Subject Access Request.

The practice will not tolerate violent or abusive behaviour.

Anyone verbally abusing either a member of staff or the public, or using inappropriate language, will be asked to leave the premises and requested to find another GP.

Anyone who is violent or causes damage will be removed from our list immediately.

Patients will also be removed from the list in the following circumstances:

• Violence and aggression towards staff or members of the public;
• Damage to practice property or equipment;
• Change of residence to outside of the practice area;
• Persistent misuse of the system; or
• Patients who the doctors are unable to manage clinically e.g. breach of contract with doctor regarding use of prescribed medicine, break down in patient communication.

Members of our team are instructed to dial 999 for police assistance if patients are disruptive and display aggressive and/or intimidating behaviour and refuse to leave the premises when asked. Charges may then be brought against these individuals.

How to share your feedback

We want your feedback – whether good or bad.

We care about what you think and we want to make sure you are happy with the service you receive.

You can provide feedback using one of our ‘We care about what you think!’ leaflets in the surgery or online by filling out this form.

Where you have a concern we want to sort this for you. We would encourage you to talk to a member of staff as soon as possible.

What to do if you are unhappy with the service

If you are unhappy with the service we provide to you, please speak to a member of our team as soon as possible.

If you decide that you need to make a complaint, this page outlines your rights and how to make a complaint. It also provides you with contact details for a number of organisations that can help you.

How to make a complaint

If you are not happy with how we resolve your concern, you can make a formal complaint either in writing or verbally. We would encourage you to do this as soon as possible.

If you make a complaint verbally, a record of your complaint will be made and you will be provided with a written copy.

When emailing or writing to us, please mark your email or letter for the attention of the Practice Manager of the surgery.

Please view our Complaints Leaflet.

What information should you provide?

However you choose to contact us, it is important to provide as much information as you can, especially dates, times and venues.

The sort of thing to include is:

• Your name, address and telephone number
• The nature of your complaint:
  • details of what happened, when it happened and where it happened (it helps to include the names or titles of members of staff if you know them);
  • details of what you want to complain about; and
  • details of what you would like the outcome of the complaint to be if you can. For example, an apology or tell us what we could do to improve things.

What are your rights?

If you are not happy with the care or treatment you’ve received or you’ve been refused treatment or a condition, you have the right to complain, have your complaint investigated and be given a full and prompt reply.

The NHS Constitution explains your rights when it comes to making a complaint. You have the right:

• to have any complaint you make about NHS services acknowledged within three working days and to have it properly investigated;
• to discuss the manner in which the complaint is to be handled, and to know the period within which the investigation is likely to be completed and the response sent;
• to be kept informed of progress and to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint, including an explanation of the conclusion and confirmation that any action needed in consequence of the complaint has been taken or is proposed to be taken;
• to take your complaint to the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman or Local Government Ombudsman, if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the NHS;
• to make a claim for judicial review if you think you have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body or local authority; and
• to compensation where you have been harmed by negligent treatment.

The NHS also commits:

• to ensure that you are treated with courtesy and you receive appropriate support throughout the handling of a complaint; and that the fact that you have complained will not adversely affect your future treatment;
• to ensure that when mistakes happen or if you are harmed while receiving health care, you receive an appropriate explanation and apology, delivered with sensitivity and recognition of the trauma you have experienced, and know that lessons will be learned to help avoid a similar incident occurring again; and
• to ensure that the organisation learns lessons from complaints and claims and uses these to improve NHS services.

Who else can help me?

Making a complaint can be daunting, but help is available.

NHS Coventry and Rugby CCG

In addition to contacting Spirit Healthcare directly, you can contact NHS Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Telephone: 024 7655 3344

Email: CRCCG.Complaints@nhs.net

NHS England

NHS England welcomes concerns, compliments and complaints as valuable feedback that will help the NHS learn from your experiences and make improvements to services it commissions.

Telephone: 0300 311 2233

Email: england.contactus@nhs.net

By Post: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

If you are not content with the response you receive to your formal complaint, the next step is to escalate your complaint to the PHSO.

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

By Post: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau

The Rugby Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is a source of advice and support if you want to make a complaint about the NHS, social services or local authorities. Wherever you live, you can contact their General Advice Service.

Rugby Advice-line: 0178 856 6238
Open Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri from 10am – 2pm.

National Advice-line: 0300 330 1025
Open every weekday 9am – 4pm.

Healthwatch

Healthwatch is the independent consumer champion organisation created to gather and represent the views of the public. Healthwatch plays a role at both a national and local level and makes sure that the views of the public and people who use services are taken into account.

You can contact Healthwatch Warwickshire

General Enquiries: 01926 422823

Email: info@healthwatchwarwickshire.co.uk

Website: www.healthwatchwarwickshire.co.uk

Access to your full medical records online

You can now gain online access to your full medical record at Brownsover Medical Centre. This is for patients who are already registered for Patient Online Service and for new patients wanting to register.

If you already have a username and password for Patient Online Services then you will just need to complete the following steps:

• Log-in to your Patient Access account and request access to your records.
• A task will then be sent to the practice for them to make your GP aware of the request.
• A member of our team will then contact you to complete a consent form and to bring a form of ID to reception.
• Once your ID has been presented, your GP will be notified to check your record is up to date and complete.
• Once completed an email will be sent to notify you that your record is available online.

All new patients requesting access to the Patient Online Service will be asked if they would like access to their full record. 

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 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.

More Information

For further information visit the NHS Digital website.

We ask you for information and keep it together with details of your care. We may use some of this information to help us to protect the health of the Nation, to help plan the future of the NHS, to train tomorrow’s clinical staff and to carry out research for the benefit of everyone. You have a right of access to your health records. Please ask at the reception for further details.

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.