Practice Policies & Patient Information
Accessible Information Standard
All organisations that provide NHS or adult social care must follow the Accessible Information Standard by law. The Accessible Information Standard aims to make sure that disabled people have access to information that they can understand and any communication support they might need.
If you or your carer(s) have any communication/information needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss, we will try to respond to those needs.
We want to make sure that we are communicating with you in a way that is easy for your and that you can understand. This could be as simple as using a larger font for any letters we send your or organising a Sign Language interpreter for your appointments.
Please don’t wait for us to ask if you do have any communication/information needs just let us know.
Identifying individuals with information/communication needs
- New patients will be asked whether they require a specific method of communication.
- Posters will be displayed in reception
- Information will also be published on the Practice Website.
Recording individuals’ Information and communication needs
- Patient specific information and communication needs will be recorded in the medical records as an ‘alert’ to staff and to prompt for relevant actions to be taken.
- All staff can check that an alert has been added by opening the patient records – the alert will appear on the opening page under ‘reminders’.
- A hearing loop is available at reception.
- Interpreters and signers can be organised in advance on a patient’s request.
- Copies of Practice Leaflets/Information are available in large print on patient’s request.
Audit Data Collection
CVDPREVENT (Cardiovascular Disease Prevention) is a national primary care audit to support professionally led quality improvement in the diagnosis and management of six high-risk conditions that cause stroke, heart attack and dementia: atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, non-diabetic hyperglycaemia and chronic kidney disease.
The General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) will require an initial full year extract of data and thereafter an extract on a quarterly basis.
NHS Digital has issued a Transparency Notice for CVDPREVENT data collection.
Complaints Procedure
Introduction
If you have a complaint or concern 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 complaints procedure as part of a NHS wide system for dealing with complaints. Our system meets the national criteria.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible, ideally on the day. This is because the sooner we know about a problem, the easier it will be for us to establish what happened. In any event, please let us have details of your complaint: Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, providing this is within 12 months of the incident. Complaints should be addressed to the Practice Manager. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within forty working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint, we shall: Find out what happened and what went wrong. Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this. Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate. Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have his or her permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed to authorize you to complain on their behalf.
Written Complaints
NHS Primary Care Complaints
From 1st August 2015 the NHS England North Midland Complaints Service will be responsible for the investigation of all NHS England complaints relating to primary care in Staffordshire.
You can contact:
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
Telephone: 0300 311 22 33
Taking it further
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you may refer the matter to:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Cyber Essentials
Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Trust Headquarters, Mellor House, Corporation Street, Stafford, Staffs, ST17 0TD
Complies with the requirements of the Cyber Essentials scheme.
Name of Ambassidor: Ahmed Behlul, Certificate Number: IASME-CE-024969, Profile Version: Beacon, Scope: Whole Organisation, Date of Certification: 19th August 2021, Recertification Due: 19th August 2022.
Freedom of Information
Information relevant to the surgery under the Freedom of Information Act can be provided. Please contact our Practice Manager.
General Practice Transparency Notice for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19)
Our practice is supporting vital coronavirus (COVID-19) planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. Find out more about Pandemic Planning and Research on the NHS Digital website.
GP Earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GP’s working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice. The average pay for GP’s working in Carlton Group Practice in the last financial year was £103,682 before tax and national insurance. This is for 5 full time GPs, 2 part time GPs and 1.33 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.
Medical Records
The practice is often asked for information about patients from insurance companies or solicitors. On no account will any information be given without the patient’s written consent. Information about a patient’s medical condition will only be passed to other health professionals to help with treatment. Staff at the surgery have access to personal information on a need-to-know basis only and are bound by rules relating to patient confidentiality.
Practice Privacy Notices for Patients
Our Practice Privacy Notice explains what information we collect about you, how we store this information, how long we retain it and with whom and for which legal purpose we may share it, the documents can be downloaded here:
Research and Planning
All GP practices in England are legally required to share data with NHS Digital for the purposes of Research and Planning under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (2012 Act). More information about this requirement is contained available at NHS Digital General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR). You have the choice to opt out if you wish to, please see Research and Planning Opt Out.
Summary Care Records
What happens if I choose not to have a summary care record (SCR)?
Find our more in our Summary Care Records Leaflet and Opt Out form.
Zero Tolerance to Violence Policy
All practices, in line with government guidelines, have a ‘Zero Tolerance to Violence’ policy. This means that any violent or abusive behaviour or perceived threatening behaviour, whether verbal or otherwise to staff or members of the public on practice premises will not be tolerated. We can refuse to provide a service, report the incident to the Police and request that the patient and their family be removed from their Practice list.