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.

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.

Freedom of Information

The ICO has published a new Model Publication Scheme that all public authorities are required to adopt.

Model Publication Scheme - further information

Comments & 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.

To pursue a complaint please contact please see the complaints procedure below or the practice manager and she will deal with your concerns appropriately. *Please note that the document can be opened using Google Chrome or similar by right clicking and opening a new tab*

 Information is also available in our reception.

We are continually striving to improve our service. Any helpful suggestions would be much appreciated and a suggestion box is located in the waiting area.

Ombudsman Services

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website contains detailed information on raising a complaint about any aspect of the NHS in England. There is also a leaflet explaining the procedure of bringing a complaint to the ombudsman.

The Ombudsman can look into complaints about local government, National Health Service organisations - including GPs

See the Ombudsman website for details

Our Requirements from Patients

Please be as polite as possible and courteous to our staff as you would expect them to be to you.

Our staff will sometimes ask you questions which need to be answered in order for them to ensure that you are receiving the best attention by the most appropriate person.

Where possible, requests for on the day appointments should be made from 8 am on the morning that you need to be seen. Home visit requests must be made before 10 am. Again, our staff are expected to ask for details in order to accurately deal with your request – please be patient!

Please me on time for your appointment. If you are over 15 minutes late you will be asked to make another appointment unless you have contacted to explain the reasons (stuck in traffic etc.). If you cannot make your scheduled appointment please let the staff know so that you appointment can be given to someone else.

On arrival to the surgery please go to reception to book in.

Always telephone your own surgery number both day and night if you require medical assistance

Our Promise to Patients

The staff at both surgeries will offer a complete “Family Health Care Service” which is both flexible and conducive to the well being of your health. Every member of the medical team is expected to undertake vigorous training and ongoing tuition to ensure that all patients are given correct and up to date information concerning health matters. Every member of staff undergoes annual appraisals to ensure their suitability in the post which they occupy.

The staff will be as polite as possible.

Routine appointments with doctors will be available within 48 hours of when required and within 4 hours of an emergency. All patients should expect to be seen within 30 minutes of their appointment time and if not a full explanation will be given. Surgery staff will endeavour to inform patients of their need to attend surgery and full recall systems are operational at both surgeries to ensure that health screening is not missed.

To have a look at our patient contract please open the link below:

patient_contract.doc

Zero Tolerance

Apsley Surgery supports the Governments NHS ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’. Patients who are violent or abusive will be reported to the police and will be asked to find another doctor as they will be removed from our practice list.

We will endeavour to solve any problems by discussion to ensure that there is no breakdown of the patient / doctor relationship.

Non NHS charges

We have included some information to explain what Non NHS charges are  as well  as a list of current charges recommended by the BMA.

Why do I have to pay?

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, providing copies of health records or producing medical reports for insurance companies. 

What is covered by the NHS?

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.

I only require a signature. What will I be charged?

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. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, 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.

Below is a list of current prices that Apsley House Surgery charge for Non NHS work, for more  information  please see the BMA website.