Access to Medical Records

We keep information about you for your future care and treatment.   We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it.  Whenever we can, we remove details, which identify you. 

The sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law.   However, sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, for example to notify a birth or an infectious disease.  Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential. The Practice also operates a “Teenage Friendly” Policy.

You have a right to see your medical records.  To do this you will need to make a written request.  Please ask a receptionist for details or contact the Practice Manager.

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Summary Care Record (SCR)

Your Medical Records - Your Decision

What is happening?

A new NHS computer system is coming to this area soon, called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies. However, later on as the computer system (known as the "NHS Spine") develops, many other people who work in the NHS will be able to access it and much more: eg information from hospitals, blood tests, x-rays and specialists' letters.

The information will be sent from practices such as ours and held on NHS databases. As with all new systems there are pros and cons; when you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems. On the other hand, there is not much evidence that these sorts of systems dramatically improve care. Having all your personal medical information in one place increases the risk of other people accessing it without permission (known as "hacking") or it getting lost.

The purpose of this factsheet is not about whether you should have your data on the Summary Care Record or not. It is about

your right to control what's happening to your care records . Connecting for Health, the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors' leaders that patients registering with this practice should have absolute control over whether or not their records are available on the Summary Care Record. However, for patients already registered with the practice it is assumed you want a Summary Care Record unless you actively opt out. This practice believes everyone should have the same control. The British Medical Association also believes patient medical records should not be uploaded without explicit patient/carer consent.

What are my options?

1

) I do want to have a Summary Care Record, I am happy for my records to be sent to it

2)

I do not want a Summary Care Record, I am not happy for my records to be sent to it

3)

I don't know whether I want a Summary Care Record, I will decide later

What happens next?  If you choose option 1) we will set our system to create a SCR for you

 If you choose option 2) we will set our system to not create a SCR for you

(you will be able to have one created at a later date if you wish)

 If you choose option 3) we will also set our system to not create a SCR for you. You will be able to have one created at a later date

 These three options give you complete control over what happens to your records. You can change a previous decision but it is important to remember that if you have a Summary Care Record and it has ever been viewed, then thereafter, whilst you can stop any further information being added to it, you will not be able to have the previous data deleted.

Where can I get more information?

Information from Connecting for Health, the government agency that is responsible for the Summary Care Record, is being posted to you by your local Primary Care Trust during the next few weeks.

Additional information, including an Opt Out form, can be found at:

www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/summary ; www.tiny.cc/optout383

Alternative views from people who have concerns about centrally-managed computer systems can be found at:

http://www.thebigoptout.com

Complaints Procedure

We offer a Practice Complaints Procedure to deal with comments, suggestions and complaints about the service we provide. The Practice Manager will give you further information or you can obtain a form from any of the reception staff.

Our aim is to give the highest possible standard of service and we try to deal with any problems quickly and efficiently.

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Zero Tolerance of Violent or Aggressive Behaviour

Surgery staff deserve the right to do their jobs without being verbally or physically abused.  Most of out patients respect this right and we thank you for being one of them.  Types of behaviour that will not be tolerated include the following:

• Loud or intrusive conversation or shouting.
• Threatening or abusive language involving excessive swearing or offensive remarks.
• Derogatory remarks of any kind, including comments regarding race, religion, gender, sexuality.
• Malicious allegations relating to members of staff, other patients or visitors.
• Threats or threatening behaviour.
• Physical violence.

The Caxton Surgery has a duty to provide a safe and secure environment.  Violent or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated and decisive action will be taken to protect staff, patients and visitors.

Trainee GPs and Medical Students

As part of our commitment to training, qualified doctors are based in the surgery on 6 monthly placements to continue their training.  Doctors who then wish to specialise as GPs continue their training for 12 months.  As part of this training process, consultations may be recorded but this will not be done unless written patient consent has been obtained before and after the consultation. 

We have also become involved in the training of medical students from Keele University. This means that students may be sitting in with GPs during their surgery but you will always be given the opprtunity to decide whether or not you you are happy for the student to be present during the consultation.

PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)

The NHS employs over a million staff in thousands of locations. It is a large and complex organisation providing a broad range of services. It is not surprising that sometimes you or a loved one may feel bewildered or concerned when using the NHS. And this can be at times when you are feeling at your most vulnerable and anxious.

So, what should you do if you want on the spot help when using the health service? The NHS expects all members of staff to listen and respond to you to the best of their ability. But sometimes, you may wish to talk to someone employed especially to help you. The Patient Advice and Liaison Service, known as PALS, has been introduced to ensure that the NHS listens to patients, their relatives, carers and friends, and answers their questions and resolves their concerns as quickly as possible.

PALS also helps the NHS to improve services by listening to what matters to patients and their loved ones and making changes, when appropriate.

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What does PALS do?

In particular, PALS will:

• Provide you with information about the NHS and help you with any other health-related enquiry
• Help resolve concerns or problems when you are using the NHS
• Provide information about the NHS complaints procedure and how to get independent help if you decide you may want to make a complaint
• Provide you with information and help introduce you to agencies and support groups outside the NHS
• Inform you about how you can get more involved in your own healthcare and the NHS locally
• Improve the NHS by listening to your concerns, suggestions and experiences and ensuring that people who design and manage services are aware of the issues you raise
• Provide an early warning system for NHS Trusts and monitoring bodies by identifying problems or gaps in services and reporting them.

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Find out more

If you would like more information about PALS, the functions it is intended to provide and the standards it should strive to achieve , follow this link.