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Complaints
We
always try to give the best possible service. However, if you have a complaint
or suggestion about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the
staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice based
complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with patient complaints.
A leaflet explaining this procedure is available from reception.
Data
Protection
Medical
Information And The Data Protection Act 1998
We need to keep information about you so that we can provide the best possible
health care. Details of your name, address, date of birth, next of kin as well
as your medical history are kept on our computer records and on paper records.
These records include contacts you have had with the surgery, clinical notes/hospital
letters, laboratory and X-ray results, casualty attendances and details of attendances
at other doctors’ surgeries etc.
Having accurate up-to-date information means that doctors, nurses and other health
care professionals can give you the correct sort of care and treatment - for example,
knowing that you have suffered a certain illness may mean that some medicines
would not be suitable for you and therefore would not be prescribed.
We have a legal responsibility to keep all this information held about you confidential.
Our obligations (and that of other health professionals who work with us) are
set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. This Act also sets out your own rights.
There may be times when we need to share information about you with other people
who are involved in your medical care. Examples would be in the case of letters
to consultants when you are referred to hospital or to our practice nurses, district
nurses, health visitors or midwives. The sharing of medical information is covered
by the Act. It states that the sharing of sensitive, patient related information
is allowable for “medical purposes” as long as it is shared with:
- A health professional - eg GP,
nurse or health visitor
- A person who, though not a health
professional, has
responsibility to preserve confidentiality - eg practice
administration staff
We will ensure that these conditions
are met by us.
Information from your medical records is sometimes requested for use in research
and statistical analysis. In the Data Protection Act 1998 the use of information
for “medical purposes” is defined to include “preventative medicine,
medical diagnosis, medical research, the provision of care and treatment and the
management of healthcare services”. Wherever possible, the gathering of information
used for such purposes is done anonymously. This information can then be passed
to organisations such as universities, research institutions, hospitals and other
places with a legitimate interest in the information.
This sort of information is very important as it can be used to measure how well
we are addressing health issues and highlights areas of need. For example, finding
out how many people in certain areas have heart disease or diabetes can help to
focus our attention on such diseases and the government can invest more money
into addressing these important health issues. We need accurate information about
the health of the general public to decide where NHS money needs to be spent and
where we, the doctors and nurses, should be concentrating our efforts.
Where medical information is used for this purpose, strict measures are taken
to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified. Sometimes, however, it
is not possible to use anonymised information, but in this event any release of
information would only take place with your consent, unless the law required that
it be passed on in the interest of public health.
Everyone working for the NHS and within our own surgery has a legal duty to keep
information about you confidential. We will not disclose information about
you to any third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional
circumstances such as when the health or safety of yourself or others is at risk
or where the law requires information to be passed on. Sometimes other people
outside the NHS (eg Social Services) may be involved in your care. We may need
to share information about you so we can all work together for your benefit but
this will only be done where there is a genuine need.
Anyone receiving information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it
confidential.
Access To Your Own Health Records
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (which came into force on 1 March 2000) you
are allowed to find out what information is held about you on computer and in
certain manual records (“right of subject access”). This applies to
your health records.
If you want to see your records, you should speak to the practice manager or your
GP and you may be asked to put this request in writing. You may have to apply
to the hospital to receive some hospital records or to other organisations where
you have been, or are being treated. You are entitled to receive a copy of records
but this will incur a charge. You should be aware that in certain circumstances
your right to see some details in your health records may be limited in your own
interest or for other reasons.
Further information about the Data Protection Act may be obtained from the office
of the Information Commissioner who has responsibility for ensuring good practice
in all aspects of data protection. There is a leaflet request line : 0870 600
8100 or alternatively a web site address: www.dataprotection.gov.uk
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