Practice Policies

Confidentiality & Medical Records

The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Chaperone Policy

MORETON GROUP PRACTICE is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the safety of everyone is of paramount importance.

This Chaperone Policy adheres to local and national guidance and policy –i.e.:-

‘NCGST Guidance on the role and effective use of chaperones in Primary and Community Care settings’.

The Chaperone Policy is clearly advertised through patient information leaflets, website (when available) and can be read at the Practice upon request. A Poster is also displayed in the Practice Waiting Area.

A chaperone can be requested for any consultation, examination or procedure where they consider one is required. The chaperone may be a family member or friend, but on occasions a formal chaperone may be preferred.

Patients are advised to ask for a chaperone if required, at the time of booking an appointment, if possible, so that arrangements can be made and the appointment is not delayed in any way. The Healthcare Professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations.

All staff are aware of and have received appropriate information in relation to this Chaperone Policy.

All trained chaperones understand their role and responsibilities and are competent to perform that role.

There is no common definition of a chaperone and their role varies considerably depending on the needs of the patient, the healthcare professional and the examination being carried out.

Their role can be considered in any of the following areas:

Emotional comfort and reassurance to patients
Assist in examination (e.g. during IUCD insertion)
Assist in undressing
Act as interpreter
Protection to the healthcare professional (against allegations / attack)

Checklist for consultations involving intimate examinations

Chaperones are most often required or requested where a male examiner is carrying out an intimate examination or procedure on a female patient, but the designation of the chaperone will depend on the role expected of them, whether participating in the procedure or providing a supportive role.
Establish there is a genuine need for an intimate examination and discuss this with the patient and whether a formal chaperone (such as a nurse) is needed.
Explain to the patient why an examination is necessary and give the patient an opportunity to ask questions. The chaperone would normally be the same sex as the patient and the patient will have the opportunity to decline a particular person as a chaperone, if that person is considered not acceptable for any reason.
Offer a chaperone or invite the patient to have a family member / friend present.
If the patient does not want a chaperone, record that the offer was made and declined in the patient’s notes.
Obtain the patient’s consent before the examination and be prepared to discontinue the examination at any stage at the patient’s request.
Record that permission has been obtained in the patient’s notes.
Once the chaperone has entered the room, they should be introduced by name and the patient allowed privacy to undress / dress. Use drapes / curtains where possible to maintain dignity. There should be no undue delay prior to examination once the patient has removed any clothing.
Explain what is being done at each stage of the examination, the outcome when it is complete and what is proposed to be done next. Keep discussion relevant and avoid personal comment.
If a chaperone has been present, record that fact and the identity of the chaperone in the patient’s notes.
During the examination, the chaperone may be needed to offer reassurance, remain alert to any indication of distress but should be courteous at all times.
Record any other relevant issues or concerns in the patient’s notes, immediately following the consultation.
Chaperones should only attend the part of the consultation that is necessary – other verbal communication should be carried out when the chaperone has left.
Any request that the examination be discontinued should be respected.
Healthcare professionals should note that they are at an increased risk of their actions being misconstrued or misrepresented, if they conduct intimate examinations where no other person is present.

Violence Policy

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

Practice Charter and statements of intent

Please click on the link below to view our Practice Charter where we have detailed what the Practice aims to deliver to our Patients and what we ask from patients registered with our Practice

Our Practice Charter July 2024

STATEMENT OF INTENT IN RELATION TO IT’S DEVELOPMENT

New contractual requirement came into force from 1 April 2014 requiring that GP Practices should make available a statement of intent in relation to the following IT developments:

Summary Care Record (SCR)
GP to GP Record Transfers
Patient Online Access to their GP Record
Data for commissioning and other secondary care purposes

The same contractual obligations require that we have a statement of intent regarding these developments in place and publicised by 30 September 2014.

Please find below details of the Practices stance with regards to these points.

Summary Care Record (SCR)

There is a new Central NHS Computer System 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.

Later on as the central NHS computer system develops, (known as the ‘Summary Care Record’ – SCR), other staff who work in the NHS will be able to access it along with information from hospitals, out of hours services, and specialists letters that may be added as well.

Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on central NHS databases.

As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. 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, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System.

For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System unless you actively opt out.

GP to GP Record Transfers

NHS England requires Practices to utilise the GP2GP facility for the transfer of patient records between Practices, when a patient registers or de-registers (not for temporary registration).

It is very important that you are registered with a Doctor at all times. If you leave your GP and register with a new GP, your medical records will be transferred from your previous Doctor and forwarded on to your new GP via NHS England. It can take your paper records up to two weeks to reach your new surgery.

With GP to GP record transfers, your electronic record is transferred to your new Practice much sooner.

Moreton Group Practice confirms that GP to GP transfers are already active and we send and receive patient records via this system.

Patient Online Access to Their GP Record

NHS England requires practices to promote and offer the facility to enable patient’s online access to appointments, prescriptions, allergies and adverse reactions, or have published plans in place to achieve this by 31 March 2015.

We currently offer the facility for booking and cancelling appointments and also for ordering your repeat prescriptions on-line. This is done by collecting a personal pin number at reception and activating your registration via our Practice Website Moreton Group Practice

By March 2015, we will offer patients the facility to view, export or print summary information from their records relating to medications, allergies, adverse reactions and any other items agreed between the Practice and the Patient.

The Practice has met the intention stated above and details of our online access services are detailed in the document below.

IT Promoting patient online services.docx

Data for Commissioning and Other Secondary Care Purposes

It is already a requirement of the Health & Social Care Act that Practices must meet the reasonable data requirements of commissioners and other health and social care organisations through appropriate and safe data sharing for secondary care usage, as specified in the technical specification for care data.

At Moreton Group Practice we have specific arrangements in place to allow patients to “opt out” of care.data which allows for the removal of data from the Practice. Please contact the surgery if you require further information or for the forms to “opt out”.

Moreton Group Practice confirms these arrangements are in place and that we undertake training and audits to ensure that all our data is handled correctly and safely via the Information Governance Toolkit.

NHS Constitution

The NHS is founded on a common set of principles and values that bind together the communities and people it serves – patients and public – and the staff who work for it.

This Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England.

It sets out rights to which patients, public and staff are entitled, and pledges which the NHS is committed to achieve, together with responsibilities which the public, patients and staff owe to one another to ensure that the NHS operates fairly and effectively.

All NHS bodies and private and third sector providers supplying NHS services are required by law to take account of this Constitution in their decisions and actions.

The Constitution will be renewed every 10 years, with the involvement of the public, patients and staff.

How MORETON GROUP PRACTICE implements the NHS Constitution

Principles

The practice:

Provides a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation and has a duty to respect their human rights.
Promotes equality through the service, providing and to paying particular attention to groups or sections of society where improvements in health and life expectancy are not keeping pace with the rest of the population.
Provides access to services based on clinical need, not on an individual’s ability to pay.
Aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism, providing safe and effective high-quality care focused on patient experience.
Ensures that it is effectively lead and managed and its staff receive relevant education, training and development.
Its services reflect the needs and preferences of patients, their families and carers who will be involved in and consulted on all decisions about their care and treatment.
Ensures that it works across organisational boundaries and in partnership with other organisations in the interest of patients, local communities and the wider population.
Is accountable to the public, communities and patients that it serves.
Supports staff when they raise concerns about the service by ensuring their concerns are fully investigated and that there is someone independent, outside of their team, to speak to.

Patient Rights

Patients have the right:

To receive NHS services free of charge, apart from certain limited exceptions sanctioned by Parliament.
To access NHS services and not be refused access on unreasonable grounds.
To expect the practice to assess the health requirements of the local community and to commission and put in place the services to meet those needs as considered necessary.
In certain circumstances to go to other European Economic Area countries or Switzerland for treatment which would be available through the NHS.
Not to be unlawfully discriminated against in the provision of NHS services including on grounds of gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability (including learning disability or mental illness) or age.
To access services within maximum waiting times, or to be offered a range of alternative providers if this is not possible.
To be treated with a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff, in a properly approved or registered organisation that meets required levels of safety and quality.
To be treated with dignity and respect, in accordance with their human rights.
To accept or refuse treatment that is offered, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless valid consent has been given.
To be given information about their proposed treatment in advance, including any significant risks and any alternative treatments which may be available, and the risks involved in doing nothing.
To privacy and confidentiality and to expect the practice to keep their confidential information safe and secure.
To access to their own health records.
To choose their GP practice, and to be accepted by that practice unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse, in which case they will be informed of those reasons.
To express a preference for using a particular doctor within their GP practice.
To make choices about their NHS care and to information to support these choices.
To be involved in discussions and decisions about their healthcare, and to be given information to enable them to do this.
To be involved, directly or through representatives, in the planning of healthcare services, the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and in decisions to be made affecting the operation of those services.
To have any complaint you make about NHS services dealt with efficiently, to have it properly investigated, know the outcome and escalate the complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman.
To make a claim for judicial review if they think they have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body.
To compensation where they have been harmed by negligent treatment.

Patient Responsibilities

To make a significant contribution to their own, and their family’s, good health and well-being, and take some personal responsibility for it.
To treat NHS staff and other patients with respect and recognise that causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises could result in prosecution.
To provide accurate information about their health, condition and status.
To keep appointments, or cancel within reasonable time.
To follow the course of treatment which they have agreed, and talk to their clinician if they find this difficult.
To participate in important public health programmes such as vaccination.
To ensure that those closest to them are aware of their wishes about organ donation.
To give feedback – both positive and negative – about the treatment and care they have received, including any adverse reactions they may have had.