Statement of Intent – IT Requirement

Contractual requirements came into force from 1st April 2014 requiring that GP Practices should make available a statement of intent in relation to the following I.T. developments:

Summary Care Record (SCR)

NHS England require practices to enable successful automated uploads of any changes to patient’s summary information, at least on a daily basis, to the Summary Care Record (SCR) or have published plans in place to achieve this.

Having your Summary Care Record (SCR) available will help anyone treating you without your full medical record. They will have access to information about any medication you may be taking and any drugs that you have a recorded allergy or sensitivity to.

Of course if you do not want your medical records to be available in this way then you will need to let us know so that we can update your record.

Dr Rahman confirm that your SCR is automatically updated on at least a daily basis to ensure that your information is as up to date as it can possibly be.

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 removed 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 GP2GP record transfers your electronic record is transferred to your new practice much sooner.

Dr Rahman confirms that GP2GP transfers are already being undertaken at Acorn Medical Practice.

Patient Online Access to Their GP Record

NHS England require practices to promote and offer the facility to enable patients online access to appointments, prescriptions, summary care record, allergies and adverse reactions or have published plans to achieve this.

We currently offer the facility for booking, cancelling appointments and for ordering repeat prescriptions online. This is done by the SystmOnline facility. If you do not already have a user name and password for this system – please register for them at the practice reception.

However, online access to your medical records has not yet been enabled.

Data for Commissioning and Other Secondary Care Purposes

It is already a requirement of the Health and 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 uses, as specified in the technical specification for care data.

At Acorn Medical 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 reception for further information on this.

Dr Rahman confirm these arrangements are in place and that we undertake annual training and audits to ensure that all our data is handled correctly and safely via the Information Governance Toolkit.

Please view our Chaperone Policy here.

Practice Complaints Procedure

Patient feedback is important to us as it helps us to improve the service we provide to patients. We take patient complaints seriously and will attempt to address your concerns to your satisfaction.

How do I make a complaint?

If you wish to complain please contact the Practice Manager Mrs Alison Bailey either in person, by phone or in writing:

• Tel: 01623 428412
• Address: Acorn Medical Practice, 11-13 Wood Street, Mansfield, Notts, NG18 1QA
• Online Complaints Form

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the practice needs to know that you have their permission to do so.

 What happens next?

The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days.  The practice will respond, after investigation, within the timeframe specified to you at the acknowledgement stage of the process.  Some complaints may take longer to address but you will be informed of a response time.  If this cannot be met, the practice will keep you informed.

Please be assured making a complaint will not adversely affect your ongoing healthcare at the practice.  We will deal with you fairly, compassionately and will endeavour to resolve the situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

Wherever possible, we aim to learn from complaints and take action to avoid similar occurrences.

How do I complain to someone Independent?

GP Practices would prefer to have the opportunity to answer complaints ourselves in the first instance. However, you may pass your complaint directly to:

Patient Experience Team
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board
Sir John Robinson House
Sir John Robinson Way
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 6DA

Tel: 0115 8839570
Email: nnicb-nn.patientexperience@nhs.net

If you would like further information please follow the link to the ICB website: Patient Experience and Complaints – NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

However, please note, patients cannot raise the same complaint with the practice and ICB.

Is there a time limit?

A complaint must be made within 12 months of the date of the incident that caused the problem or the date of discovering the problem.

Please remember, the quicker you complain, the easier it will be to investigate the facts.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome?

You can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on 0345 015 4033.

For more information see their website www.ombudsman.org.uk.

Other Useful Contacts

POhWER, NHS Complaints Advocacy, on 0300 456 2370. For more information see their website www.pohwer.net.

All patients of the Practice will be marked with ‘Implied Consent’ unless they wish to inform us otherwise.

The data sharing will only be between the Practice and any other health care professional who is directly involved with that patient’s care.

Please see the poster and leaflet below for further information.

‘Happy To Share’ Poster
‘Happy To Share’ Leaflet

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into force on the 25th May 2018 and the Practice is committed to being compliant with the new regulations. Our Data Protection Privacy Notice and information regarding how this affects patients can be found here.

Please view our Practice Privacy Notice here.
View what information we hold on you here.
Please view our Covid-19 Privacy Notice here.

The Practice will not discuss any information with family members unless we have explicit consent from the patient or the relevant Power of Attorney information.

Read more.

Security of information

Please see our Care Record leaflet HERE.

Confidentiality affects everyone. We have a legal basis to gather, store and process large amounts of information on a daily basis. This includes medical records, personal records and computerised information for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine; medical diagnosis; or if the process is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. This information is used by many people throughout the course of their daily work.

Our duty to protect information and confidentiality is taken very seriously. We are committed to taking all reasonable measures to ensure the confidentiality and the security of all information for which we are responsible, whether computerised or on paper. This includes regular staff training on the legal obligations they have to maintain confidentiality and security of information at all times.

We have appointed a Senior Information Risk Owner who is accountable for the management of all information assets and any associated risks and incidents, and a Caldicott Guardian who is responsible for the management of patient information and patient confidentiality.

We take staff training extremely seriously. This is to ensure that nobody will access or use your information without a relevant reason, and to stop accidental loss, damage and destruction of any of your medical, personal and electronic records.

Why do we collect information about you?

To make sure you get the best care doctors, nurses and the team of health and care staff caring for you keep records about your health and any care or treatment you may receive from the NHS and Social Care. These records help to make sure that you receive the best possible care. These may be written down in your paper records or held on a computer. They may include:

• Basic details about you such as name, address, date of birth, next of kin, etc.
• Contact we have had with you such as appointments or clinic visits,
• Notes and reports about your health, treatment and care,
• Results of x-rays, scans and laboratory tests,
• Relevant information from people who care for you and know you well such as health professionals and relatives.

Always check that your details are correct when you visit us and please tell us of any changes as soon as possible.

How your personal information is used

Your records are used to manage and deliver the care you receive to make sure that:

• The doctors, nurses and other healthcare members of staff involved in your care have correct and up to date information, to look at your health and decide on the right care for you,
• Health and care staff have the information they need to be able to look at and improve the quality and type of care you receive,
• Your concerns and worries can be properly investigated if a complaint is raised,
• The right information is available if you see another doctor, or are referred to a specialist or another part of the NHS and Social Care.

Who do we share personal information with?

Everyone working within the NHS and Social Care (within your local authority/council) has a legal duty to keep information confidential. Similarly, anyone who receives information from us has a legal duty concerning your confidentiality. The partner organisations with which we share information are:

• Other NHS Trusts and hospitals that are involved in your care,
• General Practitioners (GPs),
• Ambulance Services,
• NHS111
• Adults’ and children’s social care services.

You may be receiving care from other sectors as well as the NHS. Therefore we may need to share information to other agencies about you, so we can all work together for your benefit. We will only do this if they have a legitimate need, or we have your permission. These agencies include:

• Community Pharmacies
• Care Homes
• Hospices
• Social Care Services.
• Education Services.
• Local Authorities.
• Voluntary and private sector providers working with the NHS.
• General Medical Council

The Notts Care Record is sub-processed by Interweave: https://www.interweavedigital.com/

We will not provide your information to any other third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as, if the health and safety of you and others is at risk or if the law requires us to pass on information.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Ecosystems Platform and Notts Care Record

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Ecosystems Platform and Notts Care Record is a shared system that allows healthcare staff within the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire health and social care community to appropriately access the most up-to-date and correct information about patients involved in their care, to deliver the best possible care.

If you would like any further information, or would like to discuss this further, please contact us using the details provided below.

Disclosure of information

You have the right to object to how and with whom we share the information that is within your records that could identify you. This will be noted within your records so that all staff involved with your care and treatment are aware of your decision. By choosing this option, it may mean that the delivery of your care or treatment ia more difficult. You can also change your mind at any time about your decision.

How you can access your records

The Data Protection legislation gives you a right to access the information we hold about you in our records. We will provide your information that you are entitled to within a calendar month once you have provided

• adequate supporting information to enable us to verify your identity and locate your records,
• An indication of what information you are requesting, to enable us to locate it in an efficient manner.

Acorn Medical Practice is only the data controller for their data within the Notts Care Record.  If you wish to access the data that other organisations have put in it then you will need to contact their Information Governance team and request it.

You as an individual have the right to have erased any records that have been inaccurately added to your medical records, personal records or other computerised system. If you think any information is inaccurate or incorrect, please contact us using the details below.

Ultimately, if you are unhappy with the way we have handled your information you have the right to make a complaint to us or to the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO).

Retention

The retention period for medical records once you have been discharged from care is eight years. Once this period is up your records will then be destroyed within the guidelines set out by the Data Protection legislation. There are some exemptions to this, such as maternity and child’s records; these will be kept for 25 years.

Data Controller

The Data Controller responsible for keeping your information confidential is:

ACORN MEDICAL PRACTICE

11-13 WOOD STREET

MANSFIELD

NOTTS

NG18 1QA

Telephone: 01623428412

The Data Protection Officer can be contacted: nnicb-nn.c84679@nhs.net

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of information Act 2000 provides any person with the right to obtain information held by us subject to exemptions.

Notification

The Data Protection Legislation requires organisations to lodge a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal information. These details are publicly available from:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 08456 306060
Website: www.ico.gov.uk

The Practice send text message reminders to patients regarding pending appointments. However, unfortunately sometimes, due to technical difficulties out of hours, these messages do not send. Therefore please ensure that you keep a written record of your appointment.

It is the patient’s responsibility to ensure they attend or cancel their appointment.

• The Caldicott Guardian is Dr K A Rahman
• The Clinical Governance Lead is Dr K A Rahman
• The Information Governance Lead is Mrs Alison Bailey

The clinical records the Practice holds are held in accordance with Clinical and Information Governance guidelines.

Should you require access to your medical records, please contact the practice in writing. An appointment will be made for you to view your records with an appropriate member of staff.

Should an outside agency require a copy of your medical records, they will need to request them in writing to the Practice. Written consent from you as the patient will be required to be forwarded with the address and the reasons why they require the information will also be necessary.

Your medical records are not used unless your permission has been requested and granted in writing.

All staff has a code of confidentiality in their contracts and all records are completely confidential in all instances.

All staff are regularly trained on these matters.

If a person rings the Practice for information and they are not the patient, we are unable to discuss anything in respect of the patient, unless we have written consent from the patient. This is in keeping with the code of confidentiality.

You can read our Patient Leaflet here.

In order for us to provide a good service we also require patients to act responsibly by following the procedures below:

• Remember to keep your appointment. If you are not able to attend, please inform the surgery as soon as possible.
• If more than one person needs to be seen, make a separate appointment for each patient.
• Please remember a prescription is not always necessary with every consultation. Your doctor will advise you accordingly.
• Please request out of hours consultations for emergencies only. Home visits are at the doctor’s discretion.
• Please treat the reception team with the respect they deserve. They work very hard and can be very busy. Your patience is appreciated.
• Look after your own health. Exercise regularly, eat healthily and try not to smoke.
• Ensure you have enough medication at all times.

THE NHS AND PRACTICE HAS A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY TOWARDS ANY KIND OF ABUSE TOWARDS IT’S STAFF.

REMOVAL FROM THE PRACTICE LIST MAY BE UNDERTAKEN WHERE A PATIENT IS VIOLENT OR ABUSIVE TOWARDS ANY STAFF AT THE PRACTICE OR PERSONS ON THE PRACTICE PREMISES.

Please view our Statement of Purpose here.