What is the Accessible Information Standard?

The Accessible Information Standard – known officially as SCCI1605 Accessible Information – is a new ‘information standard’ for implementation by all organisations that provide NHS or adult social care.

Compliance with information standards of this type is a mandatory requirement, including for NHS Trusts and GP practices. This is set out in section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act.

The Accessible Information Standard aims to ensure that people who have a disability or sensory loss receive information that they can access and understand, for example in large print, braille or via email, and professional communication support if they need it, for example from a British Sign Language interpreter.

The Standard requires organisations that provide NHS or adult social care to:

1. Ask people if they have any information or communication needs, and find out how to meet their needs.
2. Record those needs clearly and in a set way.
3. Highlight or flag the person’s file or notes so it is clear that they have information or communication needs and how to meet those needs.
4. Share people’s information and communication needs with other providers of NHS and adult social care, when they have consent or permission to do so.
5. Take steps to ensure that people receive information which they can access and understand, and receive communication support if they need it.

Full compliance with the Standard is required by 31 July 2016, although there are also some milestones in advance of this.

Which organisations does the Standard apply to?

All organisations that provide NHS or adult social care must follow the Standard. This includes NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts, independent contractors and providers from the private and voluntary sectors.

Which patients are affected by the Standard?

The Standard applies to patients and service users who have information and/or communication needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss. It also applies to parents and carers of patients/service users who have such information and/or communication needs, where appropriate. Individuals most likely to be affected by the Standard include people who are blind or deaf, who have some hearing and/or visual loss, people who are deafblind and people with a learning disability. However, this list is not exhaustive.

What impact will implementing the Standard have?

Successful implementation of the Standard aims to lead to improved outcomes and experiences, and the provision of safer and more personalised care and services to those individuals who come within the Standard’s scope. It should lead to improvements in patient satisfaction and experience, patient safety, outcomes (for example to due to earlier diagnosis and treatment) and patients’ ability to self-care and adhere to clinical and medical advice.

The Standard is expected to benefit both patients and organisations, for example by reducing ‘did not attend’ (DNA) rates. For instance, the 2013 Action on Hearing Loss report, Access all Areas? included the statistic that 14% of people with hearing loss had missed an appointment due to not hearing their name being called in the waiting room. There are an estimated 10 million people with hearing loss across the UK, if 14% of them have missed an appointment due to not hearing their name being called, that is 1.4 million missed appointments.

The Standard should lead to some specific and significant benefits, including as follows:

• Improved health and wellbeing amongst patients in the key affected groups due to increased take-up of early intervention and prevention opportunities as part of national programmes (for example NHS Health Checks and ‘flu vaccination), ability to participate in decision-making and improved compliance with treatment / medical advice.
• Improved patient safety due to ability to understand and follow information regarding care and treatment, including medicines management and pre- and post-operative advice.
• More appropriate use of services by patients in affected groups including increased use of primary/routine care and services and reduction in urgent and emergency care usage.
• Improvement in the effectiveness of clinical care due to addressing barriers to communication.
• Improvement in patient experience and satisfaction, and reduction in complaints and litigation associated with failure to provide accessible information and communication support.

Further information can be found here – www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/

Accessible Information Patient Form (.docx, 15KB)

At Tudor Lodge Health Centre, we will ask newly registered patients about their specific needs on our registration form

For existing patients, our staff will routinely ask when you visit. Please help us to communicate effectively with you by making us aware of your specific needs.

Thank you.

Download Versions

Privacy Notice (.docx)

Privacy Notice – Simple Version (.docx)

Privacy Notice – Easy Read (.docx)

Introduction

For the purpose of applicable data protection legislation including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the GP practice responsible for your personal data is Tudor Lodge Health Centre.

We, Tudor Lodge Health Centre, will be known as the ‘Controller’ of the personal data you provide to us.

Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and safeguarding your data privacy rights.

This Privacy Notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the Practice. It applies to the personal data of our patients and to the data you have given us about your carers/family members. It covers the following topics:

• Why do we need your data?
• What data do we collect about you?
• What is the legal basis for using your data?
• How do we store your data?
• How do we maintain the confidentiality of your data?
• How long do we keep your data?
• What are your data protection rights?
• Who do we share your data with?
• Are there other projects where your data may be shared?
• When is your consent not required?
• How can you access or change your data?
• What should you do if your personal information changes?
• Changes to our privacy policy
• Our Data Protection Officer
• How to contact the appropriate authorities

Why do we need your data?

As your General Practice, we need to know your personal, sensitive and confidential data in order to provide you with appropriate healthcare services. Your records are used to facilitate the care you receive, and to ensure you receive the best possible healthcare.

Information may be used within the GP practice for clinical audit, to monitor the quality of the service provided.

What data do we collect about you?

Personal data: We collect basic personal data about you which does not include any special types of information or location-based information.  This includes your name, postal address and contact details such as email address and telephone number.

By providing the Practice with your contact details, you are agreeing to the Practice using those channels to communicate with you about your healthcare, i.e. by letter (postal address), by voice-mail or voice-message (telephone or mobile number), by text message (mobile number) or by email (email address). If you are unhappy or have a concern about our using any of the above channels, please let us know.

Special Category personal data: We also collect confidential data linked to your healthcare which is known as “special category personal data”, in the form of health information, religious belief (if required in a healthcare context) ethnicity and gender. This is obtained during the services we provide to you and through other health providers or third parties who have provided you with treatment or care, e.g. NHS Trusts, other GP surgeries, Walk-in clinics etc.

Records which the Practice holds about you may include the following information:

• Details about you, such as your address, carer, legal representative, emergency contact details
• Any contact the Practice has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments etc.
• Notes and reports about your health
• Details about your treatment and care
• Results of investigations such as laboratory tests, x-rays etc
• Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you

NHS records may be electronic, on paper, or a mixture of both.

Use of CCTV: Closed circuit television is utilised to protect the safety of our patients, staff and members of the public. To maintain privacy and dignity, CCTV is not in place where examinations or procedures are being undertaken. The Practice remains the data controller of this data and any disclosures or requests should be made to the Practice Manager.

What is the legal basis for using your data?

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:

• Data Protection Act 201
• The General Data Protection Regulations 2016
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
• Health and Social Care Act 2012
• NHS Codes of Confidentiality, Information Security and Records Management

Under the General Data Protection Regulation we will lawfully be using your information in accordance with:

Article 6 (e) – “processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller”

Article 9 (h) – “processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems”

For the processing of special categories data, the basis is:

Article 9 (2) (b) – “processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment   and social security and social protection law”

These articles apply to the processing of information and the sharing of it with others for specific purposes.

How do we store your data?

We have a Data Protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal and special category (sensitive, confidential) data. No third parties have access to your personal data unless the law allows them to do so and appropriate safeguards have been put in place.

The Practice uses the system EMIS Web to manage clinical information for your care and health. This system is provided by a company called EMIS Health Ltd which acts as a data processor on behalf of the Practice. They also use a sub-processor, Amazon Web Services, which acts under written instructions from EMIS Health Ltd. Under no circumstances are any of these organisations allowed or able to access your information.

All the personal data we use is processed by our staff in the UK. However, for the purposes of IT hosting and maintenance this information may be located on servers within the European Union.

In certain circumstances you may have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of data. These circumstances will be explained in subsequent sections of this document.

In some circumstances we may need to store your data after your consent has been withdrawn, in order to comply with a legislative requirement.

How do we maintain the confidentiality of your data?

Our Practice policy is to respect the privacy of our patients, their families and our staff and to maintain compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and all UK specific Data Protection requirements. Our policy is to ensure all personal data related to our patients will be protected.

We use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure.

Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential.

All employees and sub-contractors engaged by our Practice are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. The Practice will, if required, sign a separate confidentiality agreement if the client deems it necessary.  If a sub-contractor acts as a data processor for Tudor Lodge Health Centre an appropriate contract will be established for the processing of your information.

Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where this happens, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.

Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes. The Practice will always gain your consent before releasing the information for this purpose in an identifiable format.   In some circumstances you can Opt-out of the Practice sharing any of your information for research purposes.

How long do we keep your data?

We are required under UK law to keep your information and data for the full retention periods as specified by the NHS Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care and in accordance with National Archives requirements.

More information on records retention can be found online at: https://digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016

What are your data protection rights?

If we already hold your personal data, you have certain rights in relation to it.

Right to object: If we are using your data because we deem it necessary for our legitimate interests to do so, and you do not agree, you have the right to object. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases). Generally, we will only disagree with you if certain limited conditions apply.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we have obtained your consent to process your personal data for certain activities (for example a research project), or consent to market to you, you may withdraw your consent at any time.

Right to erasure: In certain situations (for example, where we have processed your data unlawfully), you have the right to request us to erase your personal data. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases) and will only disagree with you if certain limited conditions apply.

Right of data portability: If you wish, you have the right to transfer your data from us to another data controller. We will help with this with a GP to GP data transfer and transfer of your hard copy notes.

National Data Opt-Out: The National Data Opt-Out is a service introduced on 25 May 2018 that allows people to opt out of their confidential patient information being used for research and planning purposes. The National Data Opt-Out replaces the previous Type 2 Opt-Out, which required NHS Digital not to share a patient’s confidential patient information for purposes beyond their individual care. Any patient who had a Type 2 Opt-Out has had it automatically converted to a National Data Opt-Out from 25 May 2018 and has received a letter giving them more information and a leaflet explaining the new service. If a patient wants to change their choice, they can use the new service to do this. You can find out more from the Practice or by visiting:

https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/

If you wish to raise a query or request relating to any of the above, please contact us. We will seek to deal with it without undue delay, and in any event in accordance with the requirements of any applicable laws. Please note that we may keep a record of your communications to help us resolve any issues which you raise.

Who do we share your data with?

We consider patient consent as being the key factor in dealing with your health information.

To provide around-the-clock safe care, we will make information available to trusted organisations for specific purposes unless you have asked us not to,

To support your care and improve the sharing of relevant information to our partner organisations when they are involved in looking after you, we will share information to other systems. The general principle is that information is passed to these systems unless you request that this does not happen, but that system users should ask for your consent before viewing your record.

Our partner organisations are:

• NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts
• GPs
• NHS Commissioning Support Units
• Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
• Private Sector Providers
• Voluntary Sector Providers
• Ambulance Trusts
• Clinical Commissioning Groups
• Social Care Services
• NHS England (NHSE) and NHS Digital (NHSD)
• Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
• Local Authorities
• Education Services
• Fire and Rescue Services
• Police and Judicial Services
• Voluntary Sector Providers
• Private Sector Providers
• Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of

You will be informed who your data will be shared with, and in cases where your consent is required you will be asked for it.

Below are some examples of when we would wish to share your information with trusted partners.

Primary Care Networks: We are a member of PRIME Primary Care Network. This means we work closely with a number of local practices and care organisations for the purpose of direct patient care. They will only be allowed to access your information if it is to support your healthcare needs. If you have any concerns about how your information may be accessed within our primary care network, we would encourage you to speak or write to us.

Extended Access: We provide extended access services to our patients which means you can access medical services outside of our normal working hours. In order to provide you with this service, we have formal arrangements in place with the Clinical Commissioning Group and with other practices whereby certain key “hub” practices offer this service on our behalf for you as a patient to access outside our opening hours. Those key “hub” practices will need to have access to your medical record to be able to offer you the service. We have robust data sharing agreements and other clear arrangements in place to ensure your data is always protected and used for those purposes only.

Medicines Management: The Practice may conduct Medicines Management Reviews of medications prescribed to its patients. This service performs a review of prescribed medications to ensure patients receive the most appropriate, up-to-date and cost-effective treatments. Our local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group employs specialist pharmacists and they may at times need to access your records to support and assist us with prescribing. This reason for this is to help us manage your care and treatment.

Individual Funding Requests: An Individual Funding Request is a request made on your behalf, with your consent, by a clinician, for the funding of specialised healthcare which falls outside the range of services and treatments that CCG has agreed to commission for the local population. An Individual Funding Request is considered when a case can be set out by a patient’s Clinician that there are exceptional clinical circumstances which make the patient’s case different from other patients with the same condition who are at the same stage of their disease, or when the request is for a treatment that is regarded as new or experimental and where there are no other similar patients who would benefit from this treatment. A detailed response, including the criteria considered in arriving at the decision, will be provided to the patient’s clinician.

Are there other projects where your data may be shared?

Other research projects: With your consent we would also like to use your name, contact details and email address to inform you of services that may benefit you. There may be occasions when authorised research facilities would like to invite you to participate in research, innovations, identifying trends or improving services. At any stage where we would like to use your data for anything other than the specified purposes and where there is no lawful requirement for us to share or process your data, we will ensure that you have the ability to consent or to opt out prior to any data processing taking place. This information is not shared with third parties or used for any marketing and you can unsubscribe at any time via phone, email or by informing the Practice.

When is your consent not required?

We will only ever use or pass on information about you to others involved in your care if they have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances.

There are certain circumstances where we are required by law to disclose information, for example:

• where there is a serious risk of harm or abuse to you or other people
• where a serious crime, such as assault, is being investigated or where it could be prevented
• notification of new births
• where we encounter infectious diseases that may endanger the safety of others, such as Meningitis or measles (but not HIV/AIDS)
• where a formal court order has been issued
• where there is a legal requirement, for example if you had committed a Road Traffic Offence

We are also required to act in accordance with Principle 7 of the Caldicott Review (Revised version 2013) which states: “The duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality.” This means that health and social care professionals should have the confidence to share information in the best interests of their patients within the framework set out by the Caldicott Principles.

How can you access or change your data?

You have a right under the Data Protection legislation to request access to view or to obtain copies of the information the Practice holds about you and to have it amended should it be inaccurate.

Your request should be made to the Practice and we have a form (SAR – Subject Access Request) which you will need to complete. We are required to respond to you within one calendar month.

For information from the hospital you should write direct to them. You will need to give adequate information (full name, address, date of birth, NHS number and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified and your records located.

There is no charge to receive a copy of the information held about you.

What should you do if your personal information changes?

Please contact the Practice Manager as soon as any of your details change. This is especially important for changes of address or contact details (such as your mobile phone number).

The Practice will from time to time ask you to confirm that the information we currently hold is accurate and up-to-date.

Changes to our privacy policy

It is important to point out that we may amend this Privacy Notice from time to time.

Our Data Protection Officer

The local CCG has appointed Umar Sabat to act on behalf of GP Practices to be the Data Protection Officer.

He can be contacted on the following e-mail address:

Dpo.swl@nhs.net

If you have any concerns about how your data is shared, or if you would like to know more about your rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you, then please contact the Practice Data Protection Officer.

How to contact the appropriate authorities

If you have any concerns about how your information is managed at your GP Practice, please contact the GP Practice Manager or the Data Protection Officer in the first instance.

If you are still unhappy following a review by the GP Practice, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), at the following address:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel:     01625 545745
Email: https://ico.org.uk/

Missed Appointments (DNAs)

Tudor Lodge works hard to keep missed appointments or DNAs (Did Not Attends) to a minimum so that all our patients can access appointments when they need them at our practice.

A DNA is where:

• a patient does not turn up for their appointment.
• a patient does not contact the surgery in advance to cancel/change the appointment.

If we don’t know a patient is not attending, or a patient makes a short-notice cancellation less than an hour before a scheduled appointment, we can’t offer the appointment slot to another patient.

This leads to increased waiting times for appointments, frustration for both staff and patients and it’s a waste of precious NHS resources which over 12 months, adds up to weeks’ worth of wasted clinical time.

Patients who are experiencing ongoing difficulties in keeping their appointments should discuss this with the surgery. See Exclusions below for more details.

Tudor Lodge reserves the right to remove patients from our practice list if they DNA three appointments within a 12 month period.

When a patient does not attend an appointment without giving advance notice of more than one hour, the doctor will code the missed appointment on the patient record and we follow the process below:

First DNA

The practice will send the patient a text message to remind them of the importance of attending appointments.

Second DNA

If a patient DNAs two appointments within a twelve month period, a second DNA text message is generated. This tells the patient that should there be a further DNA within the twelve month period, that the surgery may remove the patient from our practice list.

Third DNA

In the event of a third DNA within a twelve-month period, we send a final letter to the patient. A medical team member reviews the case and the patient is removed from our practice list.

Exclusions

• Tudor Lodge does not decide to remove a patient from our list lightly but we have around 10,000 patients relying on us for timely care and access to appointments.
• Lack of organisation or forgetting is not an acceptable reason for non-attendance.
• We don’t remove patients without due consideration of their individual circumstances or reasons for non-attendance. The medical team reserves the right to exclude patients with special circumstances from management under this policy. For example, a patient who has been admitted to hospital or has dementia.
• Patients who are having problems attending appointments should speak to our practice manager.

The practice aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated service to patients who misuse drugs and alcohol. We provide advice, information and support. We have good links with clinical substances misuse teams and we can arrange and co-ordinate aftercare.

View Equality and Diversity policy

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

2019/2020 GP Earnings Report

All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GP’s working to deliver NHS services to patients at each Practice.

The average pay for GPs working in the Tudor Lodge Health Centre in the last financial year was £43,248 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full time GP, 4 part time GP’s, and no locum GP’s who worked in the Practice for more than six months.

Date taken: 01.04.19

Named GP’s For All Patients

All patients are allocated a named accountable GP when you register with the practice.

Who is my named GP?

Simply ask at your next appiointment or speak to Reception.

What does ‘accountable’ mean?

By having a named GP, we have a requirement to reassure you that you have one GP within the practice who is responsible for ensuring that care if carried out on your behalf.

What are the named GP’s responsibilities to people aged 75 and over?

If you are aged 75 or over, your named accountable GP is responsible for:

• working with relevant associated health and social care professionals to deliver a multi-disciplinary care package that meets the needs of you as the patient
• ensuring that you have access to a health check as set out in section 7.9 of the GMS Contract Regulations.

Does the requirement mean 24-hour responsibility for patients?

No. The named GP will not:

• take on vicarious responsibility for the work of other doctors or health professionals
• take on 24-hour responsibility for the patient, or have to change their working hours. The requirement does not imply personal availability for GPs throughout the working week
• be the only GP or Clinician who will provide care to that patient

Can I choose their own named GP?

In the first instance, patients are simply allocated a named GP. However, if you prefer a particular GP, reasonable efforts can be made to accommodate your preference, recognising that there are occasions when the practice may not feel the patient’s preference is suitable.

Do I have to see the named GP when I book an appointment with the practice?

No. Patients can and should feel free to choose to see any GP or nurse in the practice in line with current arrangements. However, some practices may see this change as a way to encourage and promote a greater degree of continuity of care for patients.

All patients registered with this practice have an allocated named GP at the point of registration. If you would like clarification of who your named GP is, please speak to reception.

As a patient, you can request access to your GP medical record at our practice.

You can read more about the types of information we hold about you here and learn about some of the abbreviations we use here.

Apply for online access

This website is run by Apex Medical Practice and built using a template by Practice 365. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

The majority of this website is fully accessible. We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• Some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us and ask to speak to the practice manager. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within seven days.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us and ask to speak to the practice manager.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared in June 2024. It was last updated in June 2024.

The standard website template was last tested in June 2024. The test was carried out by NHS Kent and Medway. The home page and a random sample of 10 content pages and one form from the site were tested.

Site compliance was checked using a combination of manual testing and third party tools, including:

axe – Web Accessibility Testing (https://www.deque.com/axe/)

WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (https://wave.webaim.org/)

WebAIM Contrast Checker (https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/)

Manual checks, including using screen reader Google Select and Speak within Google Chrome were also carried out.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service that you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in the practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our system meets national criteria.

How to Complain

You should normally make a complaint within twelve months of the event, or within twelve months of becoming aware that you have something to complain about. However, these time limits may be waived if there are good reasons why you could not complain earlier and if we are still able to investigate the complaint fairly and effectively in spite of the delay.

Complaints can be made in writing to the practice manager, Ms Crystal Short, via email at: swlicb.tudorlodgecomplaints@nhs.net.

What We Will Do

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 3 working days either orally or in writing and will offer to discuss the matter with you.

We will offer you a meeting with the practice manager, Ms Crystal Short, to agree a timeframe for resolution and to reach an agreement with you on how you wish the complaint to be handled and the likely period for completion of the investigation and response to you. If you would prefer not to accept the offer of a discussion, we will determine a specified response period and notify you in writing of that period.

We will aim to investigate and deal with all complaints efficiently and speedily. We will send you a written response with a report on the investigation as soon as reasonably practicable. If we are not able to meet the response deadline we have agreed with you, we will contact you to advise why and negotiate another timescale.

All oral complaints will be recorded in writing by the practice and you will be provided with a copy of the written record.

When we look into your complaints, we will aim to:

• Find out what happened and what went wrong
• Advise you what we will do to put the matter right
• Make sure you receive an apology where this is appropriate.
• Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

We hope that if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve the services provided by our practice.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint at a local level you can ask the Ombudsman to independently review your case by writing to:

The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Or email: Phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Or phone: 0345 015 4033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Although the practice would welcome the opportunity to investigate your complaint, you may prefer to choose to make your complaint to NHS South West London ICB; details as follows:

Email: contactus@swlondon.nhs.uk

Postal address:

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

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A letter signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

Whatever you tell us at this practice is confidential.

That means that you can tell people about what happened during your visit, but we won’t.

This is true if you’re a young person too.

The only time we would break confidentiality is if we were concerned you or somebody else was at risk of severe or fatal harm.

It’s important to us that you feel safe and that your privacy is respected, ask at reception if you need to speak privately or want to know more about confidentiality.

Your Medical Records

We respect your right to privacy and keep all your health information confidential and secure. It is important that the NHS keeps accurate and up-to-date records about your health and treatment so that those treating you can give you the best possible advice and care.

The information is only available to those involved in your care and you should never be asked for medical information by anyone not involved in your care.

You have a right to know what information we hold about you. If you would like to see your records, please contact our practice manager. We aim to treat all our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way.

Data Sharing, and your right to object

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force in May 2018. Basically these cover much the same ground as Information Governance (see above), but they lay more emphasis on written policies and procedures, and on organisations such as surgeries taking responsibility for informing staff and patients of the data they hold and how it is managed.

Most of the data we hold about our patients is on our clinical computer system (EMIS Web), which is managed offsite via the EMIS server based in Leeds. Patients should be aware that this data (and in fact all computerised GP records in doctors’ surgeries across the UK) is regularly accessed by a data extraction service called the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES), but that this service only extracts anonymised data for the sake of national statistics about patients and their health (for example the National Diabetes Audit).

Some non-anonymised, personal data for individual patients is also routinely shared with the national Summary Care Record service, which allows other health professionals to see things like your allergies and repeat prescriptions: this information can be very helpful if you have to be admitted to hospital as an emergency.

There may also be instances where we ask permission to share your personal details with other health services – for example if we have a Care Plan for an elderly or vulnerable patient, including next-of-kin details and emergency contact telephone numbers, we might ask your permission to share it with the out-of-hours services and the ambulance service, so that they would have access to the information if something happened when the surgery was closed.

You are entitled to refuse permission for any of these data extractions or data sharing arrangements: if you do so then your decision will be recorded on your notes and the data extractions and data sharing will not take place for you.

Click here to download the privacy notice for Tudor Lodge Health Centre (PDF, 98KB).

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding non-NHS work fees at Tudor Lodge. You can find a list of the current charges our GPs make for services that fall into this category under Private Forms and Price List.

The information provided can be verified on the BMA website.

Isn’t the NHS free?

The NHS provides most healthcare to most people free of charge, however, there are some exceptions.

Sometimes the charge is made to cover some of the cost of treatment, for example, dental fees; in other cases, it is because the service is not covered by the NHS, for example producing medical reports for insurance companies.

Isn’t the Doctor being paid anyway?

It’s important to understand that many GPs are not employed by the NHS. They are self-employed and they have to cover their costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting in the same way as any small business would. The NHS covers these costs for NHS work, but for non-NHS work, the fees charged by GPs contribute towards their costs.

What is covered by the NHS and what is not?

The Government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients, including the provision of ongoing medical treatment. In recent years, however, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work.

Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to ensure that information provided to them is true and accurate. Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients are:

• accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes.
• reports for health clubs to certify that patients are fit to exercise.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:

• life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies.
• reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with disability living allowance and attendance allowance.
• medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering.

Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?

With certain exceptions, for example, a GP confirming that one of their patients is not fit for jury service, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients. Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, for example for insurance purposes, they are not required to do such non-NHS work.

Is it true that the BMA sets fees for non-NHS work?

The BMA suggests fees that GPs may charge their patients for non-NHS work (i.e. work not covered under their contract with the NHS) in order to help GPs set their own professional fees. However, the fees suggested by the BMA are intended for guidance only; they are not recommendations and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates they suggest.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find they have to take some paperwork home at night and weekends.

I only need the doctor’s signature – what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. Therefore, in order to complete even the simplest of forms, the doctor might have to check the patient’s entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.

What will I be charged?

The BMA recommends that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what the fee will be. It is up to individual doctors to decide how much they will charge, but the BMA produces lists of suggested fees which many doctors use.

What can I do to help?

Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge.

If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.

Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight: urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this will cost more.

Please note all laboratory tests (blood test, urine testing…) will incur an extra fee if performed by the Practice and all payments need to be made prior to appointment.

Tudor Lodge Health Centre is committed to supporting our patients. However, when applying for benefits, housing, passes, adjustments or any other matter where medical conditions may be relevant, we will only supply this information when approached formally by a third party for a factual report.

Please note, we can not supply letters of support directly to patients. All requests from the third party require the patients’ formal consent, dated within the last 3 months. There may also be a charge which you can find in the price list below.

We will only complete factual responses. We are not able to give an opinion. If in doubt, we will refuse to complete the request and may issue a copy of medical records instead with your consent.

Housing Applications

Please note we do not provide letters for housing.  Whilst we appreciate that housing problems can be stressful, this is a matter for the council housing office.  If the council requires additional medical information, they will send a specific form to the GP surgery. You will need to provide your written consent for this.

If you intend to apply for a council home for health reasons, you do not need to send a letter from the GP.

The Council will write, in confidence, to your doctor if further information is required.

GPs receive frequent requests for medical letters and reports in support of housing applications from a variety of sources – the local authority, housing associations, directly from patients and from patients via Citizens Advice Bureau.

The arrangements for seeking GP reports and for payment vary from local authority area to local authority area, and even when clearly agreed upon, local authority staff often do not implement them. However, all requests should come via the Council or Housing Association, not the patient.

Information in support of an application based on health grounds should be supplied by the applicant using a form provided by the Housing Department (self-assessment). This should not require any input from the GP/practice.

Only if additional information is required, should the Housing Department Medical Officer obtain it from the applicant’s doctor, preferably using a standard form, provided the patient has given written consent. The Medical Officer should seek information which is only available to the GP, for example:

• the diagnosis;
• severity of the illness;
• medication

We understand that patients are often wrongly advised to get a letter from their GP and we can supply you with a letter outlining the above that you can show to anyone wrongly directing you to us for such documentation.

Price List 2024

We are seeing a large number of our patients choosing to go private, driven in part by huge waiting lists.   Whilst we sympathise with the delays in seeking specialist assistance, we want to bring your attention to the following BMA guidance https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/managing-workload/general-practice-responsibility-in-responding-to-private-healthcare .  

The BMA guidance is clear that ‘Shared Care with private providers is not recommended due to the general NHS constitution principle of keeping as clear a separation as possible between private and NHS care.’

Therefore, when a private provider asks the patient to seek prescription medications, or arrange tests etc at the practice, the GPs of the practice will not able to do so.

If a private provider requests transfer of care to an NHS provider, they are able to do this themselves, BMA advice ‘Private providers can make referrals to NHS services, without referral back to the GP, provided the patient would be eligible for NHS referral. Any patients referred should be treated based on clinical need. Read NHS England guidance around consultant-to-consultant referrals within the NHS.’

We will be notifying patients at the point of seeking a private referral of the guidance, and making it clear that any treatment or tests requested by the private provider will need to remain the clinical responsibility of the private provider.

We operate a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of abuse or bad behaviour towards our staff, doctors or other patients. Physical, verbal and online abuse included.

GPs and staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked, abused or poorly treated in any way. To successfully provide our services, mutual respect between staff and patients has to be in place.

All our team aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. After all, patients usually contact their GP practice when they are unwell and can be upset, scared or worried about their health. We understand that and are here to help.

But we respectfully remind patients that staff can often be dealing with many different, and sometimes complex, tasks and situations, all at the same time. Patience and understanding on both sides are therefore vital.

To protect our team and other patients, aggressive behaviour, whether physical, verbal or online, will not be tolerated. It may result in you being removed from the practice list, and in extreme cases, we may need to call the police.

The practice wants to maintain good relations with our patients, so we ask all patients to read and take note of the rare types of behaviour that we deem unacceptable:

• Using bad language, shouting or raising of voices at practice staff.
• Any physical violence towards any member of our team or other patients.
• Verbal abuse towards staff or patients in any form, including shouting.
• Discriminative, racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, sexist, ableist or ageist language or harassment are never acceptable.
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. We will always try to meet requests wherever possible, but our team shall explain if or when they cannot.
• Being perceived to bully or manipulate a staff member to obtain something.
• Causing damage to, stealing or not returning practice equipment from the practice’s premises, staff or patients.
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently.

Thank you for being part of a practice community that looks after each other.