Practice Policies & Patient Information
About Lucie Wedgwood Surgery
Serving You
Our team are here to treat those minor ailments that occur as well as providing specialist management of long-term conditions and information covering a wide range of healthcare issues.
We are here to help patients, however, please be reminded that we have a Zero Tolerance policy against any physical or verbal abuse towards our reception team or any other staff member.
We are a Teaching Practice and are part of the HIPC Primary Care Network.
Practice Policies
Access to Medical Records
The practice is registered and complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). Any request for access to notes by a patient, patient’s representative or outside body will be dealt with in accordance with the Act. Please contact the Practice Manager for further information.
Your Data Matters to the NHS
Your health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information. This data can be used to help with research and planning.
You can choose to stop your confidential patient information being used for research and planning. You can also make a choice for someone else like your children under the age of 13.
Your choice will only apply to the health and care system in England. This does not apply to health or care services accessed in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Find out how this data is used and how to opt out on the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/
Complaints & Compliments
We take complaints very seriously.
If you would like to make a complaint regarding the surgery or the services we offer, please contact the Practice Manager by telephone or, if you prefer, in writing.
Every effort will be made to answer your concerns as soon as possible.
Lucie Wedgwood Surgery,
Chapel Lane,
Burslem,
Stoke-on-Trent,
Staffordshire,
ST6 2AB
Telephone: 01782 834488
Did Not Attend Policy
A DNA is someone who did not attend an appointment at the surgery and did not tell us beforehand so we could cancel the appointment and offer it to another patient. The Doctor or Nurse were waiting, but the patient just did not attend.
DNAs are a serious problem for the NHS. Research shows that across the UK around 13 million GP appointments and 6 million practice nurse appointments are missed each year.
Our practice policy is to review repeated DNAs, if you DNA 3 or more appointments within a one-year time period we will send you a warning letter informing you that we will remove you from our practice list if you make and fail to attend one more appointment in the next year. It is always with reluctance if we have to remove a patient from our list. Please help us by cancelling any appointment you cannot attend.
GDPR
Data Protection Privacy Notice for Patients
All personal data including patient information relating to living individuals that are held in either electronic or manual systems are subject to Data Protection Act 2018. This practice is registered with the Data Protection Agency and complies with General Data Protection Regulations.
Introduction:
This privacy notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you.
This privacy notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the practice.
This Notice explains
- Who we are, how we use your information and our Data Protection Officer
- What kinds of personal information about you do we process?
- What are the legal grounds for our processing of your personal information (including when we share it with others)?
- What should you do if your personal information changes?
- For how long your personal information is retained by us?
- What are your rights under data protection laws?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became law on 24th May 2016. This is a single EU-wide regulation on the protection of confidential and sensitive information. It enters into force in the UK on the 25th May 2018, repealing the Data Protection Act (1998).
For the purpose of applicable data protection legislation (including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (the “GDPR”), and the Data Protection Act 2018 (currently in Bill format before Parliament) the practice responsible for your personal data is [Practice Name].
This Notice describes how we collect, use and process your personal data, and how, in doing so, we comply with our legal obligations to you. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and safeguarding your data privacy rights
How we use your information and the law.
Lucie Wedgwood Surgery will be what’s known as the ‘Controller’ of the personal data you provide to us.
We collect basic personal data about you which does not include any special types of information or location-based information. This does however include name, address, contact details such as email and mobile number etc.
We will also collect sensitive confidential data known as “special category personal data”, in the form of health information, religious belief (if required in a healthcare setting) ethnicity, and sex during the services we provide to you and or linked to your healthcare through other health providers or third parties.
Why do we need your information?
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. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
NHS health records may 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. Records which the Practice hold about you may include the following information;
- Details about you, such as your address, carer, legal representative, emergency contact details
- 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
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. Information may be used within the GP practice for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided.
How do we lawfully use your data?
We need to know your personal, sensitive and confidential data in order to provide you with Healthcare services as a General Practice, under the General Data Protection Regulation we will be lawfully 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
This Privacy Notice applies to the personal data of our patients and the data you have given us about your carers/family members.
Risk Stratification
Risk stratification data tools are increasingly being used in the NHS to help determine a person’s risk of suffering a condition, preventing an unplanned or (re)admission and identifying a need for preventive intervention. Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts and from this GP Practice. A risk score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified information is only provided back to your GP as data controller in an identifiable form. Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on preventing ill health and not just the treatment of sickness. If necessary, your GP may be able to offer you additional services. Please note that you have the right to opt out of your data being used in this way.
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.
How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:
- Data Protection Act 2018
- 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
- Information: To Share or Not to Share Review
Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential.
We will only ever use or pass on information about you if 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 (i.e. life or death situations), where the law requires information to be passed on and / or in accordance with the information sharing principle following Dame Fiona Caldicott’s information sharing review (Information to share or not to share) where “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.
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.
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 Lucie Wedgwood Surgery, an appropriate contract (art 24-28) will be established for the processing of your information.
In Certain circumstances you may have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of data. Please contact the Data Protection Officer in writing if you wish to withdraw your consent. If some circumstances we may need to store your data after your consent has been withdrawn to comply with a legislative requirement.
Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, 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 surgery 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 surgery sharing any of your information for research purposes.
We would however like to use your name, contact details and email address to inform you of services that may benefit you, with your consent only. There may be occasions were authorised research facilities would like you to take part on innovations, research, improving services or identifying trends.
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 and 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 DPO as below.
Where do we store your information Electronically?
All the personal data we process 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.
No 3rd parties have access to your personal data unless the law allows them to do so and appropriate safeguards have been put in place. We have a Data Protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal and or special category (sensitive, confidential) data.
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 / Foundation Trusts
- GP’s
- 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)
- Local Authorities
- Education Services
- Fire and Rescue Services
- Police & 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 some cases asked for consent for this to happen when this is required.
We may also use external companies to process personal information, such as for archiving purposes. These companies are bound by contractual agreements to ensure information is kept confidential and secure. All employees and sub-contractors engaged by our practice are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. If a sub-contractor acts as a data processor for Lucie Wedgwood Surgery an appropriate contract (art 24-28) will be established for the processing of your information.
How long will we store your information?
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 national archives requirements.
How can you access, amend move the personal data that you have given to us?
Even if we already hold your personal data, you still have various rights in relation to it. To get in touch about these, please contact us. We will seek to deal with your request 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.
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 for 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. If we do agree to your request, we will Delete your data but will generally assume that you would prefer us to keep a note of your name on our register of individuals who would prefer not to be contacted. That way, we will minimise the chances of you being contacted in the future where your data are collected in unconnected circumstances. If you would prefer us not to do this, you are free to say so.
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
Access to your personal information
Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR): You have a right under the Data Protection legislation to request access to view or to obtain copies of what information the surgery holds about you and to have it amended should it be inaccurate. To request this, you need to do the following:
- Your request should be made to the Practice – for information from the hospital you should write direct to them
- There is no charge to have a copy of the information held about you
- We are required to respond to you within one month
- You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address, date of birth, NHS number and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified, and your records located information we hold about you at any time.
What should you do if your personal information changes?
You should tell us so that we can update our records 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.
Objections / Complaints
Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the GP, please contact the GP Practice Manager or the Data Protection Officer as below. If you are still unhappy following a review by the GP practice, you have a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: You have a right to complain to the UK supervisory Authority as below.
Information Commissioner:
Wycliffe house,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545745
https://ico.org.uk/
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 have any concerns about how your data is shared, then please contact the Practice Data Protection Officer.
If you would like to know more about your rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you, please contact the Data Protection Officer as below.
Hayley Gidman (Head of Information Governance),
Midlands and Lancashire CSU
Email: mlcsu.dpo@nhs.net
Tel : 01782 872648
Mission Statement
Lucie Wedgwood Surgery’s Mission Statement:
“To provide high quality, safe and patient centred primary care. To improve our medical practice, share our expertise and to refer on to the appropriate service where necessary.
As a training practice our Doctors and nurses’ objective is to deliver knowledgeable and informed patient care, in line with the current guidelines. This ethos we pass on to the GP registrars and Keele University medical students.”
Named Accountable GP
The NHS requires that every patient is allocated a named accountable GP. All registered patients at the practice have been allocated a named GP. Newly registered patients will be allocated a named GP within 21 days of registering. This is for administrative purposes only. You retain the right to see any of our healthcare professionals.
What does ‘accountable’ mean?
The named accountable GP takes responsibility for the co-ordination of all medical services and ensures they are delivered to each of their patients where required.
This new arrangement has been introduced to reassure patients that they have one GP within the practice who is responsible for ensuring that work is carried out on their behalf.
Does the requirement mean 24-hour responsibility for patients?
No. The named GP will not:
- take on 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.
- be the only GP or clinician who will provide care to that patient
Can patients choose their own named GP?
Patients have been allocated a named GP by the practice. However, if a patient requests a particular GP, reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate their preference.
Do patients have to see the named GP when they book an appointment with the practice?
No. Patients are free to choose to see any healthcare professional in the practice.
If you would like to know who your named accountable GP is, or you have a preference as to which GP you are allocated, please contact the Surgery for more information using the Contact us form.
Patient Confidentiality
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 care.
This information may be used for management and audit purposes. However, it is usually only available to, and used by, those involved in your care. You have the right to know what information we hold about you. If you would like to see your records please contact the Practice Manager.
Please view our Telephone Call Recordings Privacy Notice.
Patient Rights and Responsibilities
We aim to treat our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way. It is your responsibility to keep your appointments, inform us of your past illnesses, medication, hospital admissions and any other relevant details.
Privacy
As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act and GDPR law 2018. This means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled in ways that are safe, transparent and what you would reasonably expect. Please view our Practice Privacy Notice. Our Data Protection Officer is: A cookie is a small file, typically of letters and numbers. This is downloaded on to a device (like your computer or smart phone) when you access certain websites. Cookies allow a website to recognise a user’s device. Some cookies help websites to remember choices you make (e.g. which language you prefer if you use the Google Translate feature). Analytical cookies are to help us measure the number of visitors to a website. The two types we use are ‘Session’ and ‘Persistent’ cookies. Some cookies are temporary and disappear when you close your web browser, others may remain on your computer for a set period of time. We do not knowingly collect or intend to collect any personal information about you using cookies. We do not share your personal information with anyone. Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.Privacy notice
Hayley Gidman (Head of Information Governance)
Midlands and Lancashire CSU
Email: mlcsu.dpo@nhs.net
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Training Practice
We are a training practice and you may be offered an appointment with a GP registrar. These doctors are fully qualified and will have had experience in several hospital specialties. They are completing their specialist training as a GP.
We also teach medical students and sometimes you may be asked to see the doctor or nurse with a student present. You will always be asked beforehand if this is acceptable and you may ask for the student to withdraw if you prefer to have your consultation in private.
Using This Website
The medical information on this website, and on any sites linked to from this website, gives general advice only and should not be used as a substitute for the personal advice patients receive when consulting a GP.
Your Data and the NHS
NHS Data-Sharing
Your data matters – read more on the NHS website.
Your health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information, which can be used to help with research and planning. You can choose to stop your confidential patient information being used for research and planning. You can also make a choice for someone else like your children under the age of 13.
Shared data helps the NHS. It has been used to find the first treatment for coronavirus and for vaccine research.
NHS Digital will never sell your data, and there are strict rules about how NHS can use your data. It’s only shared securely and safely.
If you’re happy with your confidential patient information being used for research and planning you do not need to do anything.
Any choice you make will not impact your individual care.
Please click on the links below to find out more and opt out if you wish to do so.
Zero Tolerance
Zero Tolerance on Aggressive and Threatening Behaviour
The Practice considers aggressive and threatening behaviour to be:
- Attempted or actual, aggressive threatening physical actions made towards any member of staff.
- The use of aggressive, threatening or abusive language, (including raising of the voice, swearing and cursing, shouting) which threatens or intimidates staff.
- Any behaviour verbal or physical which causes staff to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or threatened, is totally unacceptable.
This policy applies throughout the premises.
Procedure
All instances of abusive/threatening behaviour will be reported to the Practice Manager and recorded into an incident log. Any instance of physical abuse will be reported to the police
The offender will be removed from the premises by the police. The patient will then be removed from the practice list and the PCSE will be notified so they can then inform the Patient that they must register elsewhere.
Any instance of verbal abuse whether in person or on the telephone will be reported to the Practice Manager and recorded in the incident log.
A copy of this Zero Tolerance agreement will be filed in the patient’s medical records.