Practice Policies & Patient Information
How we use your data
Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.
It is important that we, the NHS, can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. We would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community service, to help us provide a full picture. This will allow us to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so we can see what has worked best.
Information such as your postcode and NHS number, but not your name, will be used to link your records in a secure system, so your identity is protected. Information which does not reveal your identity can then be used by others, such as researchers and those planning health services, to make sure we provide the best care possible for everyone.
Summary Care Record
Summary Care Record (SCR) is a national database that holds electronic records of important patient information such as current medication, allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines, created from GP medical records. It can be seen and used by authorised staff in other areas of the health and care system involved in the patient’s direct care.
If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything. If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening.
For more information, please visit NHS Digital: Summary Care Record – NHS Digital
National Data Opt-out
The national data opt-out allows a patient to choose if they do not want their confidential patient information to be used for purposes beyond their individual care and treatment – for research and planning. Patients, or people acting for them by proxy, have control over setting or changing their own opt-out choice, and can change their mind at any time.
For more information regarding this, please visit the Digital NHS Website: National data opt-out – NHS Digital
Virtual Consultations
We are pleased to be offering new ways of consulting without patients including video consultations and Blinx. These are convenient ways for our patients to access healthcare and advice. The highest confidentiality and security standards are applied to ensure patient data acquired by these methods is always kept secure.
Photographs
You may send a photograph as part of your assessment in an email, as part of an Blinx, or via text. This photograph will be put into your patient care medical record and be protected under the Data Protection Act 2018. This means the picture will only be used for the purpose of your care and will be kept secure.
Please note the photograph may need to be process by administrative staff members and may need to be assessed by another clinician other than who you may have specified, dependent on which doctor or nurse is on duty.
AccuRx & Blinx
AccuRx and Blinx are new softwares enabling a Practice to communicate with patients via SMS. Messages are sent regarding appointment bookings, health advice, blood results and other administrative matters.
Chaperoning Policy
A chaperone is an impartial observer during a consultation with a patient. All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. This chaperone may be a family member or friend. On occasions you may prefer a formal chaperone to be present, i.e. a trained member of staff.
If you would like to view our policy, please click the following link: Wood Lane Medical Centre | Our Documents
Complaints Procedure
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our surgery. However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. Complainants have the right not to be discriminated against as the result of making a complaint and to have the outcome fully explained to them. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
If you wish to make a formal complaint, please do so as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of a few days. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately.
Who can a formal complaint be made to?
The practice manager, Nicola Falcon, can be contacted on 01895 632677 or via email to wlmc.patientenquiries@nhs.net
In the event of anyone not wishing to complain to the practice they should be directed to make their complaint to NHSE at:
By telephone: 03003 11 22 33
By email: england.contactus@nhs.net
By post: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT
GDPR
In May 2018, The General Data Protection Act came into force, a Europe-wide law that replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK.
Subject Access Request
You have the legal right to request a copy of the information we hold about you, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
If you would like to make a Subject Access Request, please complete the form and submit to the following email address: nhsnwl.sar@nhs.net
For more information regarding our GDPR and SAR policies, please click the following link: Wood Lane Medical Centre | Our Documents
Contractual Publishing of Practice Income
NHS regulations require GP practices to publish their net earnings/income and the number of GPs who work at the practice. Please find WLMC’s details below for the last financial year pre-deduction of Tax/National Insurance/Employers and Employees Superannuation.
The average pay for GPs working in Wood Lane Medical Centre in the last financial year was £70,197 before deduction of tax and national Insurance. This is for 3 full time GPs and 3 part time GPs.
Infection Control
This practice is committed to the control of infection within the building and in relation to the clinical procedures carried out within it.
If you would like to view our policy, please click the following link: Wood Lane Medical Centre | Our Documents
If you have some feedback regarding infection control in relation to your recent visit and would like to raise this to us, please email us at wlmc.patientenquiries@nhs.net
Named General Practitioner
The practice is required by the Government under the terms of the latest GP contract to allocate all patients a named GP who is responsible for your overall care provided by the practice. It is important to remember that you can continue seeing any GP of your choice at the practice. Individual patients will be informed of their named accountable GP at the first appropriate interaction with the practice.
Your named GP will usually be the named doctor you are registered with. If you wish to be told the name of your named GP, please ask reception when you are next in the surgery.
Where a patient expresses a preference as to which GP they have been assigned, the practice will make reasonable efforts to accommodate this request.
Patient Leaflet
The leaflet is also available at reception, and a copy is available for you to download below:
Zero Tolerance
The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff or one of the doctors or nursing team is treated in an abusive or violent way.
The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.
To view our Zero Tolerance Policy, please click the following link: Wood Lane Medical Centre | Our Documents