Practice Charter
What we expect from you...
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
The Doctors, nursing staff and support staff at this centre share a commitment to provide you with the best medical care and a high standard of service.
Our Practice Website tells you, who we are, highlights the services we provide and includes other information, which you as our patients should know. We have provided this Website to explain the standards of service, which you are entitled to expect from us. It is a charter of your rights as a patient with this Practice.
You have an important role in the partnership of care that exists between us. If you accept your responsibilities as a patient, we can help you get the most from the medical care and facilities that are available to you here.
What you can expect from us...
Courtesy and respect for you, your racial and cultural background and your rights as an individual, especially your rights of privacy and confidentiality.
Quality medical care provided by qualified individuals both here at the surgery or at your home, depending on your condition. Also regular health checks and referral to a Consultant if this is felt to be appropriate.
A clear explanation of the treatment, which we propose to give you and an understanding response to any questions or concerns, you may have.
Access to your health records, subject to legal requirements. Secure storage of records with access limited to staff members involved in your clinical care.
Information about the services and facilities available at this centre.
What we ask of you...
Be honest in your dealings with us: make sure we know everything we need to know to help you
Tell us if you change your name, address and Telephone/mobile number and remember to include your postcode.
Make appointments that you know you can keep and arrive on time. If for some unexpected reason you cannot attend, make sure you let us know as soon as possible.
Ask for a home visit only if you are too ill to come to the surgery. If possible, telephone before 10.30 am
Treat us with the same courtesy and respect that you expect to receive.
Be patient if we are running late – on another occasion it might be you who needs the extra time
Do not ask for another member of the family to be seen at your appointment without making prior arrangements.No matter how hard we try, problems can arise. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you receive from us please let us know.
We cannot improve our own standards unless we know there is a problem. If you have any concerns about our services, talk to one of the Doctors or the Practice Manager about it.
General Data Protection Regulation GDPR
PRACTICE PRIVACY NOTICE FOR PATIENTS
- What is a Privacy Notice?
A Privacy Notice (or ‘Fair Processing Notice’) is an explanation of what information the Practice collects on patients, and how it is used. Being transparent and providing clear information to patients about how a Practice uses their personal data is an essential requirement of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Under the DPA, the first principle is to process personal data in a fair and lawful manner, and applies to everything that is done with patient’s personal information. In practice, this means that the Practice must;
- have legitimate reasons for the use or collection of personal data
- not use the data in a way that may cause adverse effects on the individuals (e.g. improper sharing of their information with 3rd parties)
- be transparent about how you the data will be used, and give appropriate privacy notices when collecting their personal data
- handle personal data only as reasonably expected to do so
- make no unlawful use of the collected data
Fair Processing
Personal data must be processed in a fair manner – the DPA says that information should be treated as being obtained fairly if it is provided by a person who is legally authorised or required to provide it. Fair Processing means that the Practice has to be clear and open with people about how their information is used.
Providing a ‘Privacy Notice’ is a way of stating the Practice’s commitment to being transparent and is a part of fair processing, however you also need to consider the effects of processing on the individuals and patients concerned;
- What information are we collecting?
- Who collects the data?
- How is it collected?
- Why do we collect it?
- How will we use the data?
- Who will we share it with?
- What is the effect on the individuals?
- If we use it as intended, will it cause individuals to object or compla
Data Controllers
Under the Data Protection Act, the data controller is the person or organisation that will decide the purpose and the manner in which any personal data will be processed – they have overall control of the data they collect, and decide how and why it will be processed.
A GP Practice is a data controller for the patient information it collects, and should already have data processing arrangements with third parties (e.g. IT systems providers) to ensure they do not use or access data unlawfully; the data controllers will have ultimate responsibility for the Practices’ compliance with the DPA.
Risk Stratification
This is a process to identify and manage patients that are more likely to need secondary care – information is collected in order to assess their ‘Risk Score’ and is sent to NHS organisations to assess and return the results to the GP Practice. This is an acceptable way of assessing patients’ needs and prevent ill health, however it is also regarded as a disclosure of personal information, and patients have the option to opt out of any data collection at the Practice, and needs to be made clear to them.
Invoice Validations
If a patient has had NHS treatment, their personal information may be shared within a secure and confidential environment to determine which CCG should pay for the treatment received. This means sharing identifiable information such as name, address, date of treatment etc. to enable the billing process.
Partner Organisations
If the Practice shares information with any external organisations (within or outside the NHS), then let patients know by listing them. Partner organisations will usually include NHS organisations (hospitals, CCGs, NHS England etc.) other public sectors (Education, Police, Fire etc.) and any other Data Processors that may be carrying out specific project work with the Practice (e.g. Diabetes UK).
Access to Personal Information
The DPA gives patients the right to view any information held about them – the ‘Right of Subject Access’. Explain the process and who to contact. You can find your practice registration number by entering your Practice name in the ‘Name’ box here; https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Search
How we use your information
This privacy notice explains why we as a Practice collect information about our patients and how we use that information.
Culcheth Medical Centre manages patient information in accordance with existing laws and with guidance from organisations that govern the provision of healthcare in England such as the Department of Health and the General Medical Council.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
- Health and Social Care Act 2012
- NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Information Security
As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998. In practice, this means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled clearly and transparently, and in a reasonably expected way.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 changed the way that personal confidential data is processed, therefore it is important that our patients are aware of and understand these changes, and that you have an opportunity to object and know how to do so.
The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any NHS treatment or care you have received (e.g. NHS Hospital Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
NHS health records may be processed electronically, on paper or a mixture of both; a combination of working practices and technology are used to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Records held by this GP practice may include the following information:
- Details about you, such as address and next of kin
- Any contact the practice has had with you, including appointments (emergency or scheduled), clinic visits, etc.
- Notes and reports about your health
- Details about treatment and care received
- Results of investigations, such as laboratory tests, x-rays, etc.
- Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you
The practice collects and holds data for the sole purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients and we will ensure that the information is kept confidential. However, we can disclose personal information if:
It is required by law
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You provide consent – either implicitly or for the sake of their own care, or explicitly for other purposes
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It is justified to be in the public interest
Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we hold data centrally, we take strict and secure measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.
Information may be used for clinical audit purposes to monitor the quality of service provided, and may be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this we ensure that patient records cannot be identified.
Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for clinical research purposes – the practice will always endeavour to gain your consent before releasing the information.
Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare providers with the objective of providing you with better care.
Patients can choose to withdraw their consent to their data being used in this way. When the practice is about to participate in any new data-sharing scheme we will make patients aware by displaying prominent notices in the surgery and on our website at least four weeks before the scheme is due to start. We will also explain clearly what you have to do to ‘opt-out’ of each new scheme.
A patient can object to their personal information being shared with other health care providers but if this limits the treatment that you can receive then the doctor will explain this to you at the time.
Mobile Telephone
If you provide us with your mobile phone number we may use this to send you reminders about any appointments or other health screening information being carried out.
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
- Community Trusts
- Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
- Private Sector Providers
- Voluntary Sector Providers
- Ambulance Trusts
- Clinical Commissioning Groups
- Social Care Services
- Local Authorities
- Education Services
- Fire and Rescue Services
- Police
- Other ‘data processors’
Access to personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access/view information the practice holds about you, and to have it amended or removed should it be inaccurate. This is known as ‘the right of subject access’. If we do hold information about you we will:
- give you a description of it
- tell you why we are holding it
- tell you who it could be disclosed to
- let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form
If you would like to make a ‘subject access request’, please contact the practice manager in writing. There may be a charge for this service. Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and on the practice notice board.
The practice is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. The registration number is Z5184583 and can be viewed online in the public register at the ICO.
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 such as date of birth is incorrect in order for this to be amended. You have a responsibility to inform us of any changes so our records are accurate and up to date for you.
Notification
The Data Protection Act 1998 requires organisations to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal and sensitive information. This information is publicly available on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk. The practice is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
Who is the Data Controller?
The Data Controller, responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential is Ms Shelley Moores – Practice Manager. Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and displayed in prominent notices in the surgery.
The Partnership is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 . Z5184583
Our registration can be viewed on-line in the public register at the ICO.org .uk
Data Protection Officer
Malcom Gandy – Head of Information Governance and Quality Assurance
St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Alexandra Business Park
Court Building
Prescot Road
St Helens
WA10 3TP
Further information
Further information about the way in which the NHS uses personal information and your rights in that respect can be found in:
- The NHS Care Record Guarantee : http://www.nigb.nhs.uk/pubs/nhscrg.pdf
- The NHS Constitution : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england
- NHS Digital’s Guide to Confidentiality in Health & Social Care gives more information on the rules around information sharing : http://content.digital.nhs.uk/article/4979/Assuring-information
An independent review of information about patients is shared across the health and care system led by Dame Fiona Caldicott was conducted in 2012. The report, Information: To share or not to share? The Information Governance Review, be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-information-governance-review
NHS England – Better Data, Informed Commissioning, Driving Improved Outcomes: Clinical Data Sets provides further information about the data flowing within the NHS to support commissioning.
Please visit the NHS Digital website for further information about their work. Information about their responsibility for collecting data from across the health and social care system can be found.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is the Regulator for the Data Protection Act 1998 and offer independent advice and guidance on the law and personal data, including your rights and how to access your personal information. For further information please visit the www.ico.gov.uk
Safeguarding at Culcheth Medical Centre
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding simply means keeping people safe from harm. It is about protecting children and adults from abuse or neglect. There are many different types of abuse.
Types of abuse that children can suffer include:
physical abuse
sexual abuse
neglect
emotional abuse
domestic abuse
bullying and cyberbullying
child sexual exploitation
child trafficking
criminal exploitation and gangs
female genital mutilation
grooming
For more information on these types of abuse and how you can spot them, visit:
Warrington Safeguarding Partnership: https://www.warrington.gov.uk/warrington-safeguarding-partnership
NSPCC: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/
Types of abuse/neglect that adults can experience include:
physical abuse
sexual abuse
domestic abuse
psychological or emotional abuse
financial or material abuse
modern slavery
discriminatory abuse
organisational or institutional abuse
neglect
self-neglect
For more information on these types of abuse, you can visit:
Warrington Safeguarding Adults Board: https://www.warrington.gov.uk/warrington-safeguarding-adults-board-wsab
Social Care Institute of Excellence:
https://www.scie.org.uk/safeguarding/adults/introduction/types-and-indicators-of-abuse
Who is responsible for safeguarding?
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Here at Culcheth Medical Centre all staff members play a role in safeguarding. Safeguarding is not just something we choose to do, it is also something we are required by law to do.
At Culcheth Medical Centre the Safeguarding Lead is Dr Animesh Sinha and the Deputy Safeguarding Lead is Tracy Whitford.
How does Culcheth Medical Centre safeguard children and adults who are, or who might be, experiencing abuse or neglect?
Keeping children and adults safe from abuse and neglect cannot be done by one person or one agency. At the heart of any safeguarding process is the child or adult who may be suffering abuse. We work in partnership with our patients who are, or who are at risk of, experiencing abuse as well as their families and advocates as appropriate.
We work closely with our health colleagues such as health visitors, the school nursing team, midwives, paediatricians, mental health teams and other hospital colleagues. We also work with our partner agencies locally such as child and adult social care, education and the police to ensure any child or adult suffering abuse can be supported and protected and any concerns about abuse can be properly investigated.
To find out more about how agencies work together in Cheshire to keep children and adults safe visit:
Warrington Safeguarding Partnership: https://www.warrington.gov.uk/warrington-safeguarding-partnership
Warrington Safeguarding Adults Board: https://www.warrington.gov.uk/warrington-safeguarding-adults-board-wsab
Safeguarding Training
All staff at Culcheth Medical Centre have the appropriate levels of safeguarding training for their job role. Safeguarding training standards are set nationally for all healthcare professionals and we follow this national guidance. Safeguarding training is essential to ensure all staff are able to spot signs of abuse or neglect and take action. We work hard to make safeguarding a key priority for our practice and our patients.
What will happen if a GP or any member of staff at the practice is worried that a child or adult is being abused or neglected?
All staff in the practice have a duty and responsibility to speak up and say something if they are worried a child or adult might be being abused or neglected. If any staff member has concerns they will discuss this with the practice Safeguarding Lead or with one of the other GPs who will decide what needs to happen next.
If a doctor is concerned that a child or young person is at risk of abuse or neglect, they must take steps to make sure the child or young person is protected. It can be very upsetting and stressful for families when this happens and parents often have questions about what their doctor may or may not do.
This leaflet from the General Medical Council (GMC) helps to answer those questions:
If a doctor is concerned that an adult is at risk of abuse or neglect, they will
Ask the person if they require any immediate support to keep themselves safe
Explain how safeguarding works
Ask the person what they would like to happen (Making Safeguarding Personal)
Support the person in a way to give them choice and control to improve their quality of life, wellbeing, and safety.
To do this the doctor will:
Listen to the person
Understand their views and wishes
Take them seriously
Treat them with respect
Support them to feel as safe as they want
Support them to make their own decisions
Keep them informed and involved
Tell the person what will happen next.
Capacity
When making decisions about what action is necessary to safeguard an adult, healthcare professionals have to consider whether the person has capacity to understand their situation and make decisions about what should happen to them.
What is capacity?
Capacity means the ability to use and understand information to make a decision, and communicate any decision made.
A person lacks capacity if their mind is impaired or disturbed in some way, which means they're unable to make a decision at that time.
For more information on capacity visit:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/consent-to-treatment/capacity/
All professionals have to follow The Mental Capacity Act which empowers and protects people who are not able to make their own decisions. This covers decisions about property and financial affairs, health, welfare and where they live.
For more information on The Mental Capacity Act visit:
https://safeguardingadults.co.uk/keeping-safe/mental-capacity-act/
Information Sharing
Sharing information with other relevant professionals is an important part of safeguarding. Sadly, reviews of cases where a child or adult has been killed or seriously harmed due to abuse or neglect, have often found that professionals have not shared the right information with the right person at the right time to keep the child or adult safe.
All staff at the practice must comply with the law and national guidance when making decisions about information sharing. The General Medical Council (GMC) provide guidance for doctors making decisions about information sharing. The practice also follows the Caldicott Principles:
Justify the purpose(s) for using confidential information
Don't use personal confidential data unless it is absolutely necessary
Use the minimum necessary personal confidential data
Access to personal confidential data should be on a strict need-to-know basis
Everyone with access to personal confidential data should be aware of their responsibilities
Comply with the law
The duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality
As a general rule we will ask for the person’s (or relevant parent/guardian, advocate, Power of Attorney) permission before sharing information for safeguarding purposes.
However, there are circumstances where we will need to share information even without the person’s permission (consent). Examples of these circumstances include:
Other people are, or may be, at risk, including children
Sharing the information could prevent a serious crime
A serious crime has been committed
Someone in a position of trust is implicated in causing abuse/neglect
The risk of serious harm or death is very high in a domestic abuse situation
A court order has requested the information
Again as a general rule, we will inform the person that we will need to share information about them in order to keep them or others safe from serious harm, as long as this does not increase risk of harm to the person or others.
Where can you get help if you are worried you or someone else is suffering abuse or neglect?
Remember:
Abuse is always wrong
No one should have to live with abuse
By reporting abuse you can help bring it to an end
Worried about a child?
Where there are significant immediate concerns about the safety of a child, you should contact the police on 999.
if you are worried about any child and think they may be a victim of neglect or abuse, you can make a referral to:
Children’s Social Care Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) –Tel: 01925 443322 (select option 2, then option 1)
Children’s Social Care Out of Hours: 01925 444400
https://www.warrington.gov.uk/mars
You can also contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000, email them or submit an online form. Further details are on the NSPCC website:
Worried about an adult?
Many adults may need help. This isn’t always safeguarding, (i.e, there is no one abusing them or neglecting them). They may need help because they can no longer cope for various reasons. They may require support to manage their needs or because they can no longer cope be being a carer, or they may need a number of referrals for services who can assess and support them
Whether its Safeguarding or care and support the number is the same
If you or the person you are concerned about is in danger and immediate action is required, you should ring the emergency services on 999.
If you or the person you are concerned about is not in immediate danger, you should ring
Adults Social Care – Tel: 01925 443322 (select option 2, then option 2)
Adults Social Care Out of Hour – Tel: 01925 444400
You can also speak in confidence to any member of the Culcheth Medical Centre team.