Practice Policies & Patient Information

From 4th October 2023 you will be able to see your medical records on line from that date onwards.

For more information on this please visit: NHS: How to get your medical records

Make sure you agree with the following sentences before accessing your record.

• Forgotten history – There may be something you have forgotten about in your record that you might find upsetting.
• Abnormal Results or Bad News – If your GP has given you access to test results or letters, you may see something that you find upsetting. This may occur before you have spoken to your doctor or while the surgery is closed and you cannot contact them.
• Choosing to share your Information with Someone – It’s up to you if you share your information with other- perhaps family members or carers. It’s your choice, but also your responsibility to keep the information safe and secure.
• Coercion – If you think you may be pressured into revealing details from your patient record to someone else against your will, it is best that you so not register for access at this time.
• Misunderstood information – Your medical record is designed to be used by clinical professionals to ensure that you receive the best possible care. Some of the information within your medical record may be highly technical, written by specialists and not easily understood. If you require further clarification, please contact the surgery for a clearer explanation.
• Information about someone else – If you spot something in the record that is not about you or notice any other errors, please log out of the system immediately and contact the practice as soon as possible.

1. I have read and understood the information provided by the practice

2. I understand that I will automatically see any new information (prospective records) that is added to my healthcare record.

3. I understand how to keep my online GP services and the information they contain about me secure

4. If I choose to share my information with anyone else, this is at my own risk

5. If I suspect that my account has been accessed by someone without my agreement, I will contact the practice as soon as possible

6. If I see information in my record that is not about me or is inaccurate, I will contact the practice as soon as possible

7. If I think that I may come under pressure to give access to someone else unwillingly, I will contact the practice as soon as possible. If the patient struggles to agree with any of these statements or raises any concerns, recommend that the patient makes an appointment with an appointed person in the practice to discuss their concerns before signing them up for GP online services. You can include the statements in an application form.

Understanding some of the medical terms you may see in your notes – in the first instance please visit NHS: Abbreviations you may find in your health records.

Understanding your laboratory test results – please visit labtestsonline.org.uk.

For further information about the medication you are taking visit patient.info/medicine.

We strive to ensure your details are accurate and up to date. If you are concerned that information in your online record is inaccurate, please contact the practice. Your concern will be passed to a member of the clinical team to review. This is an extremely busy time and it may take up to 28 days to review your concern, so please don’t contact us unless at least 28 days have passed since your request. The practice will contact you directly by SMS once your request has been reviewed with an update.

Medical Reports

Our practice has decided to outsource our medical reporting work to an NHS Digital accredited company called MediData. MediData will be processing your medical report via eMR and providing online access via their secure encrypted portal. If you wish to contact MediData directly, please email mdmc@medi2data.com or call on 03333 055774.

Medical reports and examinations can be obtained from your doctor, but as this is not supported by the NHS there will be a charge, to be paid before completion. We suggest you download the NHS App, please watch this film for further information: NHS Digital: NHS App Film.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working for the practice, you are entitled to ask for an explanation. We operate an in-house practice complaints procedure for dealing with complaints which is in line with the NHS complaints procedure.

Complaints should be put in writing and addressed to the Operations manager, at the surgery, who will ensure that all complaints received are investigated thoroughly and as quickly as possible. Complaints should be made as soon as possible after the problem occurred and must be within twelve months of the date on which the matter, which is the subject of the complaint, came to the notice of the complainant.

Once a complaint has been received at the practice, it will be acknowledged within 3 working days. We aim to provide a full response within 10 working days. On some occasions it may take longer than this.

Please note that the practice keeps strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality which means that if you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must have their written consent in order to investigate the complaint.

Your complaint will be fully investigated with relevant members of the practice team. It may be necessary for us to contact you directly if further information is required. When the complaint has been investigated you will receive a written response.

We hope that if you have a complaint you will use our in-house complaints procedure as we believe that this will give us the best chance of putting the problem right and an opportunity to improve our practice.

You may submit your complaint directly to NHS South West London ICB if you wish:

NHS South West London Integrated Care Board, 3rd Floor, 120 The Broadway, London SW19 1RH

• Telephone: 0800 026 6082
• Email: contactus@swlondon.nhs.uk
• Website: NHS South West ICB

If you need support to make your complaint, contact NHS Complaints Advocacy Service Helpline:

• Telephone: 0300 330 5454 
• Website: www.voiceability.org

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can contact:

• The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP.
• Telephone: 0845 015 4033
• Fax: 0207 217 4940
• Textphone: 0207 217 4066
• Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

The practice complies with the Data Protection Act 2018.  All information about patients is confidential: from the most sensitive diagnosis, to the fact of having visited the surgery or being registered at the practice. All patients can expect that their personal information will not be disclosed without their permission except in the most exceptional of circumstances, when somebody is at grave risk of serious harm.

All members of the primary health care team (from reception to doctors) in the course of their duties will have access to your medical records. They all adhere to the highest standards of maintaining confidentiality.

As our reception area is a little public, if you wish to discuss something of a confidential nature please mention it to one of the receptionists who will make arrangements for you to have the necessary privacy.

Under 16s

The duty of confidentiality owed to a person under 16 is as great as the duty owed to any other person. Young people aged under 16 years can choose to see health professionals, without informing their parents or carers. If a GP considers that the young person is competent to make decisions about their health, then the GP can give advice, prescribe and treat the young person without seeking further consent.

However, in terms of good practice, health professionals will encourage young people to discuss issues with a parent or carer. As with older people, sometimes the law requires us to report information to appropriate authorities in order to protect young people or members of the public.

Useful Websites

• Confidentiality NHS Code of Practice
• Confidentiality and Mental Health
• Confidentiality Guidance

The Freedom of Information Act creates a right of access to recorded information and obliges a public authority to: 

• Have a publication scheme in place 
• Allow public access to information held by public authorities

The act covers any recorded organisational information such as reports, policies or strategies, that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland, however it does not cover personal information such as patient records which are covered by the Data Protection Act. 

Public authorities include government departments, local authorities, the NHS, state schools and police forces. 

The act is enforced by the Information Commissioner who regulates both the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act 2018. 

The Surgery Publication Scheme

A publication scheme requires an authority to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities. The scheme lists information under seven broad classes, which are: 

• Who we are and what we do 
• What we spend and how we spend it 
• What our priorities are and how we are doing it 
• How we make decisions 
• Our policies and procedures 
• Lists and registers 
• The services we offer 

You can request our publication scheme leaflet at the surgery. 

Who Can Request Information?

Under the Act, any individual, anywhere in the world, is able to make a request to a practice for information. An applicant is entitled to be informed in writing, by the practice, whether the practice holds information of the description specified in the request and if that is the case, have the information communicated to him. An individual can request information, regardless of whether he/she is the subject of the information or affected by its use.  

How Should Requests be Made?

Requests must: 

• Be made in writing (this can be electronically e.g. email/fax).
• State the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence .
• Describe the information requested. 

What Cannot be Requested?

Personal data about staff and patients covered under Data Protection Act. 

For more information see these websites: 

• Legislation GOV.UK 
• Information Commissioners Office 

The average pay for GPs working in Bridge Lane Group Practice in the last financial year was £79,219 before tax and National Insurance. This is for: 1 full time GPs and 13 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised by 31 March 2022 at the latest. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method of 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 for any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparisons with other practices.

Click here to view our Infection Control statement.

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

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.

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used.

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 the NHS.uk Your NHS Data Matters page.

We aim to provide our patients with the best quality care available. Our charter is a statement of what you can expect from this practice and what we feel we can expect from you.

• All patients will be treated equally. We do not discriminate on the grounds of gender, gender identity, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age.
• Our premises will be clean and comfortable and have facilities for the disabled.
• All patients will be greeted in a friendly manner and be treated with courtesy by everyone in the practice.
• Patient confidentiality may be expected at all times.
• Patients should realise that home visits are made at the doctor’s discretion.
• Requests for night visits should only be made for emergencies.
• Many problems can be solved by advice alone, therefore patients should not always expect a prescription at every consultation.
• We ask that patients treat the doctors and staff with courtesy and respect.
• Patients must inform the practice staff of any alterations in their circumstances, such as change of surname, address or telephone number, even if it is ex-directory.

With These Rights Come Responsibilities

• We ask that patients attend their appointments at the arranged time. If they cannot attend they will inform the surgery immediately.
• We expect that patients will understand that appointments are for one person only. Additional appointments will be made if more than one person needs to be seen.
• Patients are responsible for their own health and the health of their children and should cooperate with the practice in endeavouring to keep themselves healthy.
• We ask that requests for help or advice for non-urgent matters be made during surgery hours.
• Home visits should only be requested for patients who are seriously ill. It is important to bear in mind that most medical problems are dealt with more effectively in the clinical setting of a well-equipped surgery.

Whilst we cannot place restrictions on a patient wishing to make notes or a recording of a consultation or conversation with a member of the clinical team when it is felt absolutely necessary by the patient to do so, we as a team expect that:

• Any recording is done openly and honestly
• The recording process does not interfere with the consultation process or the treatment or care being administered
• The patient is aware that an entry will be made in their healthcare record that they have recorded the consultation (or care being provided)
• The patient understands the private and confidential nature of the recording and that it is their sole responsibility to ensure it is kept safe and secure
• The recording is being made for personal use only
• Any misuse of the recording, including using it to harass, intimidate or threaten organisation staff, may result in criminal or civil proceedings
• Staff should be assured that it is in their best interests as the record of the meeting will be accurate, fair and that there can be no misunderstandings at a later point
• The recording will not be shared to third parties unless this is an absolute requirement

All telephone calls into and from the practice are recorded for the purposes of patient safety, staff training and to support our zero-tolerance policy. Recordings are held securely for up to 3 years and are then destroyed. Access to recordings is strictly limited in accordance with our confidentiality policy.

We a training practice for qualified doctors who are training to become GPs.  Trainees spend 6-12 months seeing patients, doing home visits and running emergency clinics, supervised by a GP trainer at the practice.

The practice is also involved with teaching medical students. Medical students are taught in groups, and may also sit in with a GP during a clinic, with patient consent.

The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and their staff courteously and act reasonably.

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.

Removal from the practice list

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship.

When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the surgery, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household.

The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family.

This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.