Confidentiality

The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

• To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
• To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

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Medical Records

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

The Practice keeps records on both computer and paper format and is registered under the Data Protection Act. All contacts between clinicians and patients will be recorded on our clinical computer system.

We ask you information about yourself so that you can receive proper care and treatment. Occasionally we are involved in some research studies that require anonymous information from the patient’s notes. You cannot be identified from this information.

You have the right to object to the use of your information for any of these purposes. You have the right to view your medical records by prior arrangement with the Practice manager.

Suggestions & Complaints

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

Simply contact the Practice Manager and he will set all the necessary wheels in motion. Further written information is available on the complaints procedure from reception. We are continually striving to improve our service. Any helpful suggestions would be much appreciated.

We aim to provide the best possible service to our patients and hope you will feel that we achieve that aim. The care of your health is a partnership between yourself and the primary health care team. The success of that partnership depends on an understanding of each other's needs and co-operation between us.

Our Responsibility To You

• You will be greeted courteously
• You have a right to confidentially
• You have the right to see your medical records subject to the limitations of the law.
• You will be seen the same day if your problem is urgent.
• You will be seen by your own doctor whenever possible.
• You will be informed if there will be a delay of more than 30 minutes for your appointment.
• You will be referred to a consultant when your GP thinks it necessary
• You will be given the result of any test or investigation on request after 12 noon or at your next appointment
• Your repeat prescription will be ready for collection within 24 hours of your request
• Your suggestions and comments about the services offered will be considered sympathetically and any complaint dealt with quickly.

Your Responsibility To Us

• Please treat all surgery staff with the same respect - we are all just doing our job.
• Do not ask for information about anyone other than yourself
• Tell us of any change of name or address, so that our records are accurate
• Only request an urgent appointment if appropriate. Home visits should only be requested if you are really too ill to attend surgery and night visits should be for emergencies only - the Doctor On Call will be at work as usual the next day
• Please cancel your appointment if you are unable to attend
• Please be punctual, but be prepared to wait if your own consultation is delayed by an unexpected emergency
• Please allow sufficient time for your consultant's letter or the results of any tests to reach us
• Use the tear-off slip to request your repeat prescription whenever possible. Please attend for review, when asked, before your next prescription is due
• Do let us know whenever you feel we have not met our responsibility to you
• We would, of course, be pleased to hear when you feel praise is due as well
• We will not tolerate violent or abusive behaviour to any member of staff within our practice and such behaviour will result in you being removed from the practice list immediately.

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Zero Tolerance

Our staff are committed to providing quality healthcare services for the benefit of all patients and service users. Drs Bailie, Logue, McCartney & White are determined to ensure staff are able to work without fear of violence, and will not tolerate agressive, threatening or violent behaviour towards them.

Individuals behaving violently towards staff will face sanctions and be reported to the Police. The Practice will always support a prosecution to the full extent of the law.

The practice considers aggressive behaviour to be any personal, abusive and/or aggressive comments, cursing and/or swearing, physical contact and/or aggressive gestures.

The practice will request the removal of any patient from the practice list who is aggressive or abusive towards a doctor, member of staff, other patient, or who damages property.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was passed on 30 November 2000. It gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, with full access granted in January 2005. The Act sets out exemptions to that right and places certain obligations on public authorities.

FOI replaced the Open Government Code of Practice, which has been in operation since 1994.

Our full publication scheme is available to read here

Data Protection and FOI – how do the two interact?

The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000. It provides living individuals with a right of access to personal information held about them. The right applies to all information held in computerised form and also to non-computerised information held in filing systems structured so that specific information about particular individuals can retrieved readily.

Individuals already have the right to access information about themselves (personal data), which is held on computer and in some paper files under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The right also applies to those archives that meet these criteria. However, the right is subject to exemptions, which will affect whether information is provided. Requests will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

The Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act are the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor’s Department. A few of its strategic objectives being:

• To improve people’s knowledge and understanding of their rights and responsibilities
• Seeking to encourage an increase in openness in the public sector
• Monitoring the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information
• Developing a data protection policy which properly balances personal information privacy with the need for public and private organisations to process personal information

Medical students and Nursing students attend the practice from time to time. We hope that you will co-operate with us and help the students to learn about general practice. However, you will be informed of their presence in advance, and if you do not want them to be present at a consultation, your wishes will be respected. This will not affect your treatment in any way.