Practice Policies & Patient Information

Our Mission Statement
New Southgate Surgery aims to deliver high quality patient care and encourage personal wellbeing through good communication, co-operation and team work. We aspire to provide efficient and professional healthcare services in a happy working environment, which respects people and is based on achievable and realistic goals.

We are confident that our website will provide clear and concise help and give our patients the information they require in an easy and convenient format. It has been designed with the patient’s needs at the forefront of everything, from checking surgery times to letting us know what you think of us.

Serving You
Our dedicated team are here to treat those minor ailments that occur as well as providing specialist management of long-term conditions and clinics covering a wide range of healthcare issues. The technology also means you can now do a lot of things from the comfort of your home such as order a repeat prescription or book/cancel an appointment.

Care Data

Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.

It is important that we, the NHS, can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. We would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community service, to help us provide a full picture. This will allow us to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so we can see what has worked best.

Information such as your postcode and NHS number, but not your name, will be used to link your records in a secure system, so your identity is protected. Information which does not reveal your identity can then be used by others, such as researchers and those planning health services, to make sure we provide the best care possible for everyone.

You have a choice. If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything.

If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening, please speak to practice staff or download the opt out form below, complete it and return it to the practice

We need to make sure that you know this is happening and the choices you have.

How information about you helps us to provide better care

Care Data – Frequently Asked Questions

Opt Out Form – Download, complete and return to the practice

You can find out more on the NHS England Care Data website.

Complaints Policy

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 or by going to the “Our Documents” page.

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 Practitioners 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 patients consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

GDPR

GDPR & Privacy Notices

What is GDPR?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulations and is a new piece of legislation that will supersede the Data Protection Act. It will not only apply to the UK and EU; it covers anywhere in the world in which data about EU citizens is processed.

The GDPR is similar to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 (which the Practice already complies with), but strengthens many of the DPA’s principles. The main changes are:

Practices must comply with subject access requests (please see the Subject Access Request Form);
Where we need your consent to process data, this consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous;
There are new, special protections for patient data;
The Information Commissioner’s Office must be notified within 72 hours of a data breach;
Higher fines for data breaches – up to 20 million euros.

For further information please see our Patient Information Sheet

Privacy Notices

In line with the new GDPR, New Southgate Surgery has produced privacy notices. These can be accessed below :

Patient Privacy Notice

Patient Privacy Notice – easy read version for children

Patient Access Policy

This document sets out how New Southgate Surgery ensures that all patients are able to access timely and appropriate clinical care. Please select the link below to view the policy.

Patient Access Policy – December 2018

GP Net Earnings

Updated 12/12/2024

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised and the required disclosure is shown below. However, 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 and should not be used to for any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparisons with other practices.

The average earnings for GPs working in New Southgate Surgery in the last financial year was £93,677 before taxation and National Insurance. This is for 3 full time GPs and 7 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Named GP for All Patients

Risk Profiling

Risk Profiling: How Your NHS Records are Used – Privacy Notice

This Practice is taking part in a new NHS service that helps your family doctor (GP) to spot whether you need more help to manage your health. The service is called “risk profiling”.

Using information from your health records, a secure NHS computer system will look at any recent treatments you have had in hospital or at this surgery, and any existing health conditions that you have, and alert your doctor to the likelihood of a possible future hospital admission. The clinical team at the surgery will use the information to help you get early care and treatment where it is needed.

The information will be seen only by qualified health workers involved in your care. NHS security systems will protect your health information and patient confidentiality at all times.

If you don’t want your information being used in this way, or have any other concerns, please contact the surgery.

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. You can use the form at the foot of this page.

More Information

For further information visit the NHS Summary Care Record page.

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 others.

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.