ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS
Whilst we are responsible for the proper maintenance of your Medical Record during your period of Registration with this practice, these records remain the property of the Health Authority.
Forestside Medical Practice is registered under the Data Protection Act 1988. We are required under the Data Protection Act 1988 to maintain your personal medical records in a confidential manner and access to your records is therefore restricted to those persons deemed to be maintaining those records on behalf of the Department of Health and by those directly involved in your health care.
As a Training Practice we are often called upon to facilitate research into clinical conditions and prevalence data. Only fully qualified medical staff undertakes such research and the data extracted is fully anonymised to ensure that no individual Data Subject can be identified.
As the patient (Data Subject) you have a right, subject to limitations under the law, to have access your personal Medical Record. Enquiries about your medical history from such bodies as Insurance/Life assurance etc. are generally only permissible with your formal consent. You will normally be asked to give consent to such enquiries before your General Practitioner releases information.
If for any reason you wish to view your personal Medical Record, you are required to make a formal request to your Doctor who will agree a date and time for you to visit the practice and have access to those records, accompanied by a member of our staff. Whilst viewing your record you are at liberty to make any notes that you may feel appropriate. You will be allowed to ask for copies of any information that you have seen and you will be asked to pay a nominal sum for these copies.
You are not allowed under any circumstances to amend, delete or in any other way alter the records. If you believe that there is an error in your record, you must bring this to the attention of the Practice Business Manager who will ensure that your concerns are notified to your General Practitioner. The alleged error will be investigated and if the error is confirmed, the General Practitioner will amend your records accordingly.
VIOLENT OR ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR
Our staff are encouraged to handle all enquiries in a friendly and helpful manner and wherever possible to avoid confrontation. We are aware that for many patients their attendance at a GP Surgery can be a stressful experience. We endeavour to provide a clean and relaxing environment so that patients can await their consultation with our clinician in comparative peace.
Occasionally patients may for various reasons feel that they have a right to express their feelings, in a violent or abusive manner. Whilst recognising that in some cases there may be some justification for extreme behaviour, other patients, our GP’s Nurses and Staff are not here to be the butt of unreasonable expressions of anger.
If a patient persists in such behaviour and continues to act unreasonably in either a verbal or physically violent manner we are at liberty to take action that may result in the patient being removed permanently from the practice list. We will, in extreme cases, enlist the assistance of the local Police to remove an offender and in this instance we will ask the Police to issue a crime reference number that will be reported to the New Forest Primary Care Trust.
Violent or abusive patients who have been identified to the Primary Care Trust in this manner may subsequently find it difficult to register for Medical Services with an alternative General Practice in the locality and may be referred to a special unit who deal specifically with violent or abusive patients.
SUGGESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
Sometimes things do not go as smoothly as you or we would like. If you have a suggestion to make about our service please let your doctor or one of our practice administrators know.
We operate a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system and our system meets national guidelines.
- If you wish to make a complaint please try to do so as soon as possible after the problem has arisen. This helps us to find out what happened more easily. Your complaint must be made within six months of the problem occurring or within six months of you discovering that you have a problem, provided that is within 12 months of the incident.
- Please address your complaint either to your own doctor, Mrs. J Stewart – Practice Manager or to Dr. S Hill-Cousins who will deal with any complaint on behalf of the practice. Your complaint will be acknowledged within two working days and we aim to have looked into the complaint within 14 days of you having raised it with us.
When we investigate your complaint, we will:
- Find out what happened.
- Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned if you wish.
- If it is appropriate, make sure you receive an apology.
- See what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.