We aim to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment, sensory loss or any other communication need are given information they can easily read or understand. Please inform practice staff if you have any communication support needs. We will then record your accessibility requirements and information needs alongside your other details.

If you are unhappy with the treatment or service you have received from Balmore Park Surgery you are entitled to make a complaint, and receive a response from us. Please email bobicb-bw.complaints.balmorepark@nhs.net. You will receive notification of receipt of email within 4 working days and a response from us within 10 working days from that email.

Please find further information and downloadable complaint form here

A Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) has been established in every NHS Trust and Clinical Commissioning Group. PALS are not part of the complaints procedure itself but they might be able to resolve your concerns informally or can tell you more about the complaints procedure and independent complaints advocacy services.

Who can complain?

A complaint can be made by a patient or person affected or likely to be affected by the actions or decisions of a NHS organisation or primary care practitioner. A complaint can also be made by someone acting on behalf of the patient or person, with their consent.

What is the time limit for making a complaint?

You should normally complain within 12 months of the event(s) concerned or within 12 months of becoming aware that you have something to complain about.

Primary care practitioners and complaints managers in NHS organisations have discretion to waive this time limit if there are good reasons why you could not complain earlier.

To whom should I complain initially?

The first stage of the NHS complaints procedure is ‘Local Resolution’. Your complaint should be made in the first instance to the organisation or primary care practitioner providing the service. Local resolution aims to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the source of the complaint as possible using the most appropriate means; for example, use of conciliation.

You can raise your concerns immediately by speaking to a member of staff (e.g. doctor, nurse, dentist, GP or practice manager) or someone else, e.g. the PALS.

They may be able to resolve your concerns without the need to make a more formal complaint.

However, if you do want to continue with your complaint you can do this orally or by writing (including email) to the primary care practitioner or the NHS organisation concerned. If you make your complaint orally a written record should be made by the complaints manager.

You should receive a response from a primary care practitioner within 10 working days or from the Head of Corporate Affairs of the NHS organisation concerned within 20 working days. You should be kept informed of progress if this is not going to happen.

Independent Review

If you are unhappy with the response to your complaint, including a complaint about an NHS Foundation Trust, you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman for an “Independent Review” of your case.

The Health Service Ombudsman is an independent body established to promote improvements in healthcare.

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Complaints helpline: 0345 014 4033 (Monday–Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm)

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

Fax: 0300 061 4000

Address: The Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP

Where can I get further advice and help?

The PALS or complaints manager at the NHS organisation you are complaining about can provide advice, including about local independent complaints advocacy services.

Telephone: 0118 982 2829

The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) provides advice and support to people who want to complain about the NHS. Details are at www.dh.gov.uk.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and social care in England. They monitor, inspect and regulate all hospitals, care homes, home-care agencies, GP practices and dental practices.
www.cqc.org.uk / 03000 616161

All information held about patients is completely confidential. The Practice is registered under the Data Protection Act 1984. This Act protects data held on the computer system.

We will not discuss your health or treatment with anyone else without your consent.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) makes sure hospitals, care homes, dental and GP surgeries, and all other care services in England provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and encourages them to make improvements where possible.

They do this by inspecting services and publishing the results on their website: www.cqc.org.uk

You can use the results to help you make better decisions about the care you, or someone you care for, receives.

View our full report.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g.
average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs who worked for six months or more in Balmore Park Surgery in the last financial year was £57,495 before Tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full-time GP’s, 10 part-time GP’s and 2 locum GP’s

Balmore Park Surgery is a training practice accredited by the Oxford Deanery to train doctors intending to become general practitioners. As part of our commitment to training, you may have a consultation with a  doctor in training. Our trainees have received excellent feedback from patients and are valuable members of our team.

Our GP Trainees and our GP Trainers are required to make an Audio/video recording of some of their patient consultations. You may be asked for your permission to record the Audio/video of your consultation with one of the doctors. This is solely for training, education and assessment purposes. The recording, processing and storage of the consultation will comply with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and is in line with guidance of the General Medical Council.

More information on how we will manage your data is available below.

• GMC Guidance on making and using visual and audio recordings of patients

You do not have to agree to your consultation with the doctor being recorded. If you do not want us to record the consultation, this is not a problem at all, and will not affect the care you receive in in any way. If you do give your consent, then you will have the opportunity to withdraw this at any time in the future, including immediately after the consultation.

You may have received a text requesting your consent to record the consultation. If you are happy for us to record your consultation, please confirm this by responding to this message with YES. If you do not wish to give consent that is fine, and all you need to do is respond with NO.

GP Registrars and Trainees

Doctors training to be GPs are known as GP Registrars. We also train other doctors wishing to gain experience in general practice. Both GP Registrars and Trainees are fully qualified doctors. They will run their own surgeries under supervision. You might also see them when they are sitting in with, or being observed by, one of our regular doctors or nurses in a ‘joint surgery’.

Medical Students

Occasionally we have medical students observing us. They are usually in their final year of training. Medical Students will always be supervised when seeing patients and never run clinics on their own.

Clinical Supervision

Although the GP trainees run their own clinics please be reassured that they are supervised at all times by the other GPs in the practice. The practice has two accredited GP Trainers Dr Samantha Potter and Dr Tom Back.

Maintaining Accreditation

To remain a training practice, the practice is regularly inspected to ensure that we reach all the required standards for this level of teaching. The inspection involves an audit of data entry into the medical records. Only approved doctors from the Oxford Deanery’s School of General Practice will conduct these assessments. All information contained in medical records remains confidential. The inspection is only to look at the accuracy and consistency of our data entry processes.

Our current GP Registrars are Dr Santoshkumar Rajkumar and Dr Kani Varshneya.

Purpose

The annual statement will be generated each year. It will summarise:

• Any learning connected to cases of difficile infection and Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections and action undertaken;
• The annual infection control audit summary and actions undertaken;
• Infection Control risk assessments and actions undertaken;
• Details of staff training (both as part of induction and annual training) with regards to infection prevention & control;
• Details of infection control advice to patients;
• Any review and update of policies, procedures, and guidelines.

Background:

Balmore Park Surgery’s, Lead for Infection Prevention/Control is Madeleine Farmer, Practice Nurse Manager who is supported by Samantha Potter Senior GP Partner and Jessica Lee, Operations Manager.

This team keeps updated with infection prevention & control practices and share necessary information with staff and patients throughout the year.

Significant events:

Detailed post-infection reviews are carried out across the whole health economy for cases of C. difficile infection and Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections. This includes reviewing the care given by the GP and other primary care colleagues. Any learning is identified and fed back to the surgery for actioning.

This year the surgery has been involved in 0 C. difficile case reviews and 0 MRSA blood stream infection reviews.

Audits:

Detail what audits were undertaken and by whom and any key changes to practice implemented as a result.

Infection Control Risk Assessments:

Regular Infection Control risk assessments are undertaken to minimise the risk of infection and to ensure the safety of patients and staff. The following Infection Control risk assessments have been completed in the past year and appropriate actions have been taken:

• COVID-19 outbreak
• Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)
• Disposal of waste
• Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and occupational infections
• Minor surgery
• Sharps injury
• Use of personal protective clothing/equipment
• Risk of body fluid spills
• Legionella risk assessment
• Buildings and facilities that do not meet IPC best practice

Staff training:

19  new staff joined this Medical Centre/Surgery in the past 12-months and received infection control, hand-washing, and donning and doffing training within 1 months of employment.

100% of the practice patient-facing staff (clinical and reception staff) completed their annual infection prevention & control update training (specific whether this was in a formal training session or online).

100% of the practice non-patient-facing staff completed their 3-yearly/annual infection prevention & control update training.

The IPC nurse/practitioner attended training updates for their role. Training is provided by the BOB ICB Webinars.

Infection Control Advice to Patients:

Patients are encouraged to use the alcohol hand gel/sanitiser dispensers that are available throughout the Medical Centre/Surgery. Additional IPC measures on hands, face, space have been implemented due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

There are leaflets/posters available in the Medical Centre/Surgery -regarding:

Policies, procedures, and guidelines.

Documents related to infection prevention & control are available to all and reviewed in line with national and local guidance changes and are updated 2-yearly (or sooner in the event on new guidance).

Balmore Park Surgery operates under a Personalised List System. Therefore all patients will have a named GP and every effort will be made to ensure that the majority of routine appointments will be with their named GP.

Where an appointment is not available with your named GP you will be offered an appointment with one of two GPs who do not have personalised lists. New patients joining us will be advised of their Named GP at the point of registration. If you do not know who your named GP is, please ask reception.

For more information about this visit NHS Digital.

Many patients have contacted us as they are very concerned about the possibility of their personal confidential information being shared with a third party. So we have put together the following information to help people to make an informed choice about whether they want to opt out of the data sharing.

There is a lot of information to take in, but please can we urge you to read the detail so that you are making your decision based on facts and not some of the soundbites used in the media.

We fully respect the patient’s right to choose whether they want to participate in data sharing or not, but it can take time to process and code any requests to opt out, so please complete and return the forms as soon as you can if you wish to opt out.

Can we please make it very clear though that there are two opt out options and you can opt out of either, both or none. Hopefully the diagrams will help make this clearer.

As of 1st July 2021 your data will be shared with NHS Digital to help improve health, care and services.

Patient data from GP medical records kept by GP practices in England is used every day to improve health, care and services through planning and research, helping to find better treatments and improve patient care. The NHS is introducing an improved way to share this information – called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection.

NHS Digital will collect, analyse, publish and share this patient data to improve health and care services for everyone. This includes:

• Informing and developing health and social care policy
• Planning and commissioning health and care services
• Taking steps to protect public health (including managing and monitoring the coronavirus pandemic)
• In exceptional circumstances, providing you with individual care
• Enabling healthcare and scientific research

GP system suppliers will pseudonymise the data at source using the national pseudonymisation tool provided by NHS Digital then securely transfer the data collection as a fully encrypted XML file to NHS Digital.

Any data that NHS Digital collects will only be used for health and care purposes. It is never shared with marketing or insurance companies.

• This is happening by law – GP’s cannot say no.
• This is for secondary uses but there is a re-id possible but only in specific and securely governed circumstances such as COVID-19 purposes under COPI
• The data will not leave the practice in an identifiable form.
• The System Suppliers will pseudonymise the data before it goes to NHSD.
• NHSD become Controllers for the data at the point of submission not when they receive it.
• Type 1 Opt outs will be observed at the present time.
• The National data opt out will not apply to the collection of the data.
• The National data opt out will be considered at the point of dissemination as is the policy.
• Only structured and clinically coded data will be collected (free text, images and documents will not be collected).
• Legally restricted codes for Gender Recognition and Human Fertilisation and Embryology will not be collected.

NHS digital: General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR).

NHS Digital will not collect any patient data for patients who have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out in line with current policy. If this changes patients who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out will be informed.

If you do not want your patient data shared with NHS Digital, you can register a Type 1 Opt-out with us. You can register a Type 1 Opt-out at any time. You can also change your mind at any time and withdraw a Type 1 Opt-out.

Data sharing with NHS Digital will start on 1st July 2021.

If you have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice your data will not be shared with NHS Digital.

If you wish to register a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice before data sharing starts with NHS Digital, this should be done by returning this form to us by 23 June 2021 to allow time for processing it. If you have previously registered a Type 1 Opt-out and you would like to withdraw this, you can also use the form to do this.

If you register a Type 1 Opt-out after your patient data has already been shared with NHS Digital, no more of your data will be shared with NHS Digital. NHS Digital will however still hold the patient data which was shared with us before you registered the Type 1 Opt-out.

If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, then you can also register a National Data Opt-out (also known as Type 2 Opt out).

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your data to be shared as above, and haven’t previously opted out – you do not need to do anything.

Type 1 Opt-Out

To stop sharing your details with NHS digital (or to opt back in, if you have previously opted out). Complete this  opt-out form (or you can complete this to opt back in).

If you are not able to complete this form, call 0118 9471455 for a form to be posted to you or come into the practice and we can give you a copy to complete.

Then, either;

• Hand the form into reception
• Post it to us at: Balmore Park Surgery, 59a Hemdean Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7SS
• Or attach and email to administration.balmorepark@nhs.net

Type 2 Opt-Out (Also known as National Data Opt-out)

If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, which has been already shared with them (or to opt back in, if you have previous opted out).

Please note, you can only do this via the following way – as a GP practice we cannot opt you out of Type 2 (National Data Opt-out).

You need to complete the online form via Your NHS Matters.

Balmore Park Surgery operates using a ‘Personalised List’ system. This means that most of the doctors have a named list of patients for which they are responsible. Therefore, when you book a routine appointment it will usually be with your registered GP. If your own GP is not available you will be offered an appointment with a GP who does not have a personalised list.

If you need to discuss an intimate problem with a GP and you are uncomfortable with discussing this due to gender, it is perfectly appropriate for you to ask for an appointment with a GP of your own gender for the duration of the problem.

We have found that this system is the most beneficial to patients due to the continuity of care and building a rapport and trust with the medical professional.

Berkshire West has fifteen Primary Care Networks (PCNs), established as part of a major revolution in health care for local people.

PCNs are clusters of neighbouring GP surgeries which have teamed up to provide patients with a wider range of health and wellbeing services, specifically geared towards the needs of their local areas. Over time, people like social prescribers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, community mental health professionals, physician associates and paramedics could all be based within a PCN.

Our new way of working brings health and social care closer to people and is aimed at making the NHS more efficient and effective for patients and staff. It’s the biggest transformation of primary care in the last 15 years and is part of the NHS Long Term Plan to revolutionise people’s physical, mental, emotional and social health care and make it more digitally driven.

Your information, what you need to know

This privacy notice explains why we collect information about you, how that information will be used, how we keep it safe and confidential and what your rights are in relation to this.

Why we collect information about you

Health care professionals who provide you with care are required by law to maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received within any NHS organisation. These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare and help us to protect your safety.

We collect and hold data for the purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients and running our organisation which includes monitoring the quality of care that we provide. In carrying out this role we will collect information about you which helps us respond to your queries or secure specialist services. We will keep your information in written form and/or in digital form. The records will include basic details about you, such as your name and address.

They will also contain more sensitive information about your health and also information such as outcomes of needs assessments.

Details we collect about you

The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. from Hospitals, GP Surgeries, A&E, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.

Records which this GP Practice will hold about you will include the following:

• Details about you, such as your address and next of kin
• Any contact the surgery 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

How we keep your information confidential and safe

Everyone working for our organisation is subject to the Common Law Duty of Confidence. Information provided in confidence will only be used for the purposes advised with consent given by the patient, unless there are other circumstances covered by the law. The NHS Digital Code of Practice on Confidential Information applies to all NHS staff and they are required to protect your information, inform you of how your information will be used, and allow you to decide if and how your information can be shared. All our staff are expected to make sure information is kept confidential and receive regular training on how to do this.

The health records we use will be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Your records are backed up securely in line with NHS standard procedures. We ensure that the information we hold is kept in secure locations, is protected by appropriate security and access is restricted to authorised personnel.

We also make sure external data processors that support us are legally and contractually bound to operate and prove security arrangements are in place where data that could or does identify a person are processed.

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

• Data Protection Act 2018
• General Data Protection Regulation
• Human Rights Act
• Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
• NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Information Security
• Health and Social Care Act 2015
• And all applicable legislation

We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if we reasonably believe that others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (such as a risk of serious harm to yourself or others) or where the law requires information to be passed on.

How we use your information

Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare organisations for the purpose of providing you, your family and your community with better care. For example it is possible for healthcare professionals in other services to access your record with your permission when the practice is closed. This is explained further in the Local Information Sharing section below.

Under the powers of the Health and Social Care Act 2015, NHS Digital can request personal confidential data from GP Practices without seeking patient consent for a number of specific purposes, which are set out in law. These purposes are explained below.

You can choose to withdraw your consent to your personal data being shared for these purposes. When we are about to participate in a new data-sharing project we will display prominent notices in the Practice and on our website at least four weeks before the scheme is due to start. Instructions will be provided to explain what you have to do to ‘opt-out’ of the new scheme. Please be aware that it may not be possible to opt out of one scheme and not others, so you may have to opt out of all the schemes if you do not wish your data to be shared.

You can object to your personal information being shared with other healthcare providers but should be aware that this may, in some instances, affect your care as important information about your health might not be available to healthcare staff in other organisations. If this limits the treatment that you can receive then the practice staff will explain this to you at the time you object.

To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS.

Assessing Treatment Outcomes

Information is used by Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (BHFT) to assess the
effectiveness of providing psychotherapy treatment to patients with long term conditions. NHS numbers and a summary of the number of visits to the practice before and after treatment is shared with BHFT. If you do not wish your information to be shared for this purpose please let your GP know.

Child Health Information

We wish to make sure that your child has the opportunity to have immunisations and health checks when they are due. We share information about childhood immunisations, the 6-8 week new baby check and breast-feeding status with NHS Berkshire Health Foundation Trust health visitors and school nurses, and with NHS South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, who provide the Child Health Information Service in Berkshire on behalf of NHS England.

Clinical audit

Information will be used by the CCG for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided to patients with long terms conditions. When required, Information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes (e.g. the National Diabetes Audit). When this happens, strict measures are taken to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified from the data.

Clinical Research

We get requests from organisations to use our information for research purposes. We currently work with Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) providing anonymous / aggregate data to help develop local and national healthcare. We will always ask your permission before releasing any ‘Patient Identifiable Data’ (PID) for this purpose.

Department for Work and Pensions

Our practice is legally required to provide anonymised data on patients who have been issued with a fit note under the Fit for Work scheme. The purpose is to provide the Department for Work and Pensions with information from fit notes to improve the monitoring of public health and commissioning and quality of health services.

Improving Diabetes Care

Information that does not identify individual patients is used to enable focussed discussions to take place at practice-led local diabetes review meetings between health care professionals. This enables the professionals to improve the management and support of these patients.

Individual Funding Request

An ‘Individual Funding Request’ is a request made on your behalf, with your consent, by a clinician, for 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 taken under consideration 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.

Invoice Validation

Invoice validation is an important process. It involves using your NHS number to identify which CCG is responsible for paying for your treatment. Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 provides a statutory legal basis to process data for invoice validation purposes. We can also use your NHS number to check whether your care has been funded through specialist commissioning, which NHS England will pay for. The process makes sure that the organisations providing your care are paid correctly.

Local Information Sharing

Your GP electronic patient record is held securely and confidentially on an electronic system managed by your registered GP practice. If you require attention from a health professional such as an Emergency Department, Minor Injury Unit or Out Of Hours service, the professionals treating you are better able to give you safe and effective care if relevant information from your GP record is available to them.

Where available, this information can be shared electronically with other local health and care providers via a secure system designed for this purpose. Depending on the service you are using and your health and care needs, this may involve the professional accessing a secure system that enables them to view relevant parts of your GP electronic patient record (e.g. Connected Care or your Summary Care Record).

In all cases, your information is only accessed and used by authorised health and social care professionals in Berkshire based organisations who are involved in providing or supporting your direct care. Your permission will be asked before the information is accessed, other than in exceptional circumstances (e.g. emergencies) if the healthcare professional is unable to ask you and this is deemed to be in your best interests (which will then be logged).

National Fraud Initiative – Cabinet Office

The use of data by the Cabinet Office for data matching is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under Data Protection legislation. Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice. For further information see: www.gov.uk – Code of Data Matching Practice for the National Fraud Initiative.

National Registries

National Registries (such as the Learning Disabilities Register) have statutory permission under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006, to collect and hold service user identifiable information without the need to seek informed consent from each individual service user.

Risk Stratification

‘Risk stratification for case finding’ is a process for identifying and managing patients who have or may be at-risk of health conditions (such as diabetes) or who are most likely to need healthcare services (such as people with frailty). Risk stratification tools used in the NHS help determine a person’s risk of suffering a particular condition and enable us to focus on preventing ill health before it develops.

Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts, GP Federations and your GP Practice. A risk score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified information. This can help us identify and offer you additional services to improve your health.

Risk-stratification data may also be used to improve local services and commission new services, where there is an identified need. In this area, risk stratification may be
commissioned by the Berkshire West NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 provides a statutory legal basis to process data for risk stratification purposes.

Further information about risk stratification is available from: www.england.nhs.uk – Risk Stratification.

If you do not wish information about you to be included in any risk stratification programmes, please let us know. We can add a code to your records that will stop your information from being used for this purpose. Please be aware that this may limit the ability of healthcare professionals to identify if you have or are at risk of developing certain serious health conditions.

Safeguarding

To ensure that adult and children’s safeguarding matters are managed appropriately, access to identifiable information will be shared in circumstances where it’s legally required for the safety of the individuals concerned.

Summary Care Record (SCR)

The NHS in England uses a national electronic record called the Summary Care Record (SCR) to support patient care. It contains key information from your GP record. Your SCR provides authorised healthcare staff with faster, secure access to essential information about you in an emergency or when you need unplanned care, where such information would otherwise be unavailable.

Summary Care Records are there to improve the safety and quality of your care. SCR core information comprises your allergies, adverse reactions and medications. An SCR with additional information can also include reason for medication, vaccinations, significant diagnoses / problems, significant procedures, anticipatory care information and end of life care information. Additional information can only be added to your SCR with your agreement. Please be aware that if you choose to opt-out of SCR, NHS healthcare staff caring for you outside of this surgery may not be aware of your current medications, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had, in order to treat you safely in an emergency. Your records will stay as they are now with information being shared by letter, email, fax or phone. If you wish to opt-out of having an SCR please return a completed opt-out form to the practice.

Supporting Medicines Management

Berkshire West CCG operates pharmacist and prescribing advice services to support local GP practices with prescribing queries, which may require identifiable information to be shared. These pharmacists work with your usual GP to provide advice on medicines and prescribing queries, and review prescribing of medicines to ensure that it is appropriate for your needs, safe and cost-effective. Where specialist prescribing support is required, the CCG medicines optimisation team may order medications on behalf of your GP Practice to support your care.

Supporting Locally Commissioned Services

CCGs support GP practices by auditing anonymised data to monitor locally commissioned services, measure prevalence and support data quality. The data does not include identifiable information and is used to support patient care and ensure providers are correctly paid for the services they provide.

Data Retention

We manage patient records in line with the Records Management NHS Code of Practice for Health and Social Care which sets the required standards of practice in the management of records for those who work within or under contract to NHS organisations in England, based on current legal requirements and professional best practice. If you transfer to another GP and we are asked to transfer your records we will do this to ensure your care is continued.

Currently the NHS is required to keep GP records for 10 years after a patient has died. Exceptions to these rules are detailed in the code of practice.

Who are our partner organisations?

We may also have to share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, with the following organisations:

• NHS Trusts
• Specialist Trusts
• GP Federations
• Diabetic Eye Screening Service
• Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
• Private Sector Providers
• Physiotherapists
• Voluntary Sector Providers
• Ambulance Trusts
• Clinical Commissioning Groups
• Member practice(s) in our Primary Care Network (PCN), currently Emmer Green Surgery
• Social Care Services
• Local Authorities
• Education Services
• Fire and Rescue Services
• Police
• Other ‘data processors’

We will never share your information outside of health partner organisations without your explicit consent unless there are exceptional circumstances such as when the health or safety of others is at risk, where the law requires it or to carry out a statutory function.

Within the health partner organisations (NHS and Specialist Trusts) and in relation to the above mentioned themes – Risk Stratification, Invoice Validation, Supporting Medicines Management, Summary Care Record – we will assume you are happy for your information to be shared unless you choose to opt-out (see below).

This means you will need to express an explicit wish to not have your information shared with the other organisations; otherwise it will be automatically shared. We are required by law to report certain information to the appropriate authorities. This is only provided after formal permission has been given by a qualified health professional. There are occasions when we must pass on information, such as notification of new births, where we encounter infectious diseases which may endanger the safety of others, such as meningitis or measles (but not HIV/AIDS), and where a formal court order has been issued. Our guiding principle is that we are holding your records in strictest confidence.

Your right to withdraw consent for us to share your personal information (Opt-Out) The practice is compliant with the national data opt-out policy.

If you are happy for your data to be extracted and used for the purposes described in this privacy notice then you do not need to do anything. If you do not want your information to be used for any purpose beyond providing your care you can choose to opt-out. We will respect your decision if you do not wish your information to be used for any purpose other than your care but in some circumstances we may still be legally required to disclose your data.

There are several forms of opt-outs available at different levels:

Type 1 Opt-Out

If you do not want personal confidential information that identifies you to be shared outside your GP practice you can register a ‘Type 1 opt-out’ with your GP practice. This prevents your personal confidential information from being used except for your direct health care needs and in particular circumstances required by law, such as a public health emergency like an outbreak of a pandemic disease. If you do not want your information to be used for any purpose beyond providing your care you can choose to opt-out. If you wish to do so, please let us know so we can code your record appropriately to stop your records from being shared outside of your GP Practice.

National Data Opt-Out

The national data opt-out was introduced on 25 May 2018 and replaces the previous ‘type 2’ opt-out. NHS Digital collects information from a range of places where people receive care, such as hospitals and community services. The new programme provides a facility for individuals to opt-out from the use of their data for research or planning purposes. For anyone who had an existing type 2 opt-out, it will have been automatically converted to a national data opt-out from 25 May 2018 and you will receive a letter giving you more information and a leaflet explaining the new national data opt-out.

The national data opt-out choice can be viewed or changed at any time by using the online service at www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters

Access to your information

Under Data Protection Legislation everybody has the right to see, or have a copy, of data we hold that can identify you, with some exceptions. You do not need to give a reason to see your data. Under special circumstances, some information may be withheld. We may charge a reasonable fee for the administration of the request in certain instances (e.g. where a duplicate copy is requested).

If you wish to have a copy of the information we hold about you, please contact: Lindsay Blamires, Data Protection Officer on lindsay.blamires@nhs.net.

Change of Details

It is important that you tell the person treating you if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details are incorrect in order for this to be amended.

Please inform us of any changes so our records for you are accurate and up to date.

Mobile telephone number

If you provide us with your mobile phone number we may use this to send you reminders about your appointments or other health screening information. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive reminders on your mobile.

Email address

Where you have provided us with your email address we will use this to send you information relating to your health and the services we provide. If you do not wish to receive communications by email please let us know.

Notification

Data Protection Legislation requires organisations to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal and sensitive information.

We are registered as a Data Controller and our registration can be viewed online in the public register at: www.ico.org.uk/what_we_cover/register_of_data_controllers.

Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and in a prominent area at the Practice.

Data Protection Officer

Should you have any data protection questions or concerns, please contact our Data
Protection Officer at: lindsay.blamires@nhs.net

Complaints

If you have concerns or are unhappy about any of our services, please contact the Practice Manager.

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can contact:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Phone: 0303 123 1113 Website: www.ico.gov.uk

The NHS Care Record Guarantee

The NHS Care Record Guarantee for England sets out the rules that govern how patient information is used in the NHS, what control the patient can have over this, the rights individuals have to request copies of their data and how data is protected under Data Protection Legislation.

The NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. It sets out the rights patients, the public and staff are entitled to. These rights cover how patients access health services, the quality of care you’ll receive, the treatments and programmes available to you, confidentiality, information and your right to complain if things go wrong.

www.gov.uk – NHS Constitution for England

NHS Digital

NHS Digital collects health information from the records health and social care providers keep about the care and treatment they give, to promote health or support improvements in the delivery of care services in England.

www.content.digital.nhs.uk/article/4963/What-we-collect

Berkshire West Primary Care Alliance

Purpose

We are working with the Berkshire West Primary Care Alliance as part of a Community Wellness Outreach Project to increase NHS health checks, we are using third party providers who will have access to aspects of patient data only where this would be relevant. All parties have completed a Data Protection Impact Assessments

Legal Basis

• Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’; and
• Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine’.

Reviews of and Changes to our Privacy Notice

We will keep our Privacy Notice under regular review. This notice was last reviewed in July 2024

Guide to private referrals through your insurance company

1. Once you have seen the GP and agreed on a private referral, call your insurance company. They will need to know the specialty you are being referred to (e.g. Cardiology for heart problems, Orthopaedics for musculoskeletal problems, etc.)
2. The insurance company will give you a list of consultants they will cover locally (or near your place of work) within that speciality. Choose one of the consultants and call their secretary to arrange an appointment. Most consultants will have a webpage on the hospital’s website detailing some of their special interests and the secretary’s contact details can be found here if your insurance company have not already provided this.
3. Finally, Our Clinical Admin team will email you with your private referral letter attached to forward onto your chosen provider.

Please be patient; although you are being referred for a private consultation, we are still an NHS service and our CAT team work tirelessly to get things done but it will realistically take them a few days to type up your referral letter.

The Summary Care Record (SCR) is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies.

Later on as the central NHS computer system develops, (known as the ‘Summary Care Record’ – SCR), other staff who work in the NHS will be able to access it along with information from hospitals, out of hours services, and specialists letters that may be added as well.

Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on central NHS databases.

As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System.

For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System unless you actively opt out.

Our practice takes it very seriously if any member of staff is treated in an abusive or violent way.

We support the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for health service staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services, a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. We would respectfully remind patients that our staff are often confronted with by a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations. Our staff understand that patients who are unwell do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

In order for the practice to maintain a functional environment we would like to ask that all our patients read and take note of the types of behaviour that we find are unacceptable:

• Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
• Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
• Placing slanderous comments on social media.
• Racial abuse
• Sexual harassment
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
• Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently

We ask you to treat your GPs and practice staff courteously at all times.

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 practice, that they should find a new practice.

Patients who are violent towards staff will be removed from the Surgery Register with immediate effect.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, 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.

Thank you for your understanding.