In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and Access to Health Records Act 1990, patients may request to see their medical records.

Such requests should be made through the practice manager by using our Contact the Practice form and may be subject to an administration charge.

No information will be released without the patient consents unless we are legally obliged to do so.

The surgery prides itself in maintaining professional standards. For certain examinations during consultations, an impartial observer (a chaperone) will be required.

This impartial observer will be a practice nurse or health care assistant who is familiar with the procedure and be available to reassure and raise any concerns on your behalf.

If a nurse in unavailable at the time of your consultation then your examination may be rescheduled for another time.

You are free to decline any examination or chose an alternative examiner or chaperone. You may also request a chaperone for any examination or consultation if one is not offered to you. The GP may not undertake an examination if a chaperone is declined.

The role of a chaperone is to:

• Maintain professional boundaries during intimate examinations.
• Acknowledge a patient’s vulnerability.
• Provide emotional comfort and reassurance.
• Assist in the examination.
• Assist with undressing patients, if required.

The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation, the Data Protection Act 2018. 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 a 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 use our Contact the Practice form and 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.

Your Data Matters to the NHS

Information about your health and care helps the NHS to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments.

In May 2018, the strict rules about how this data can and cannot be used were strengthened. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

You can choose whether your confidential patient information is used for research and planning. For more information about your data rights please visit the Your Data Matters campaign at www.ico.org.uk.

How Your Data is Used

Your health and care information is used to improve your individual care. It is also used to help us research new treatments, decide where to put GP clinics and plan for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital. Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

What is Confidential Patient Information?

Confidential patient information identifies you and says something about your health, care or treatment. You would expect this information to be kept private. Information that only identifies you, like your name and address, is not considered confidential patient information and may still be used, for example, to contact you if your GP practice is merging with another.

Who can Use Your Confidential Patient Information for Research and Planning?

It is used by the NHS, local authorities, university and hospital researchers, medical colleges and pharmaceutical companies researching new treatments.

Making your Data Opt-Out Choice

You can choose to opt out of sharing your confidential patient information for research and planning. There may still be times when your confidential patient information is used, for example, during an epidemic where there might be a risk to you or to other people’s health. You can also still consent to take part in a specific research project.

Will Choosing This Opt-Out Affect Your Care and Treatment?

No, your confidential patient information will still be used for your individual care. Choosing to opt out will not affect your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.

What Should You Do Next?

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your confidential patient information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service.

You can change your choice at any time. To find out more or to make your choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters or call 0300 303 5678.

Information about the GPs and the practice required for disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 can be made available to the public.

There are seven classes of information:

• Who we are and what we do
• What we spend and how we spend it
• What our priorities are and how we are doing
• How we make decisions
• Our policies and procedures
• Lists and registers
• Services the practice offers

This covers any recorded organisational information such as reports, policies or strategies, that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland, however, it does not cover personal information such as patient records which are covered by the Data Protection Act 2018.

Public authorities include government departments, local authorities, the NHS, state schools and police forces.

This is enforced by the Information Commissioner who regulates both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 2018.

All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in Orchard House Surgery in the last financial year was £59,007 before tax and National Insurance.

This is for 2 full time GPs, 6 part time GPs and 1 locum GP who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Health Risk Screening or Risk stratification is a process GPs use to help them to identify and support patients with long-term conditions and to help prevent un-planned hospital admissions or reduce the risk of certain diseases developing such as type 2 diabetes. This is called risk stratification for case-finding.

Risk stratification tools use historic information about patients, such as age, gender, diagnoses and patterns of hospital attendance and admission collected by NHS England from NHS hospitals and community care services. This is linked to data collected in GP practices and analysed to produce a risk score.

Your GP will routinely conduct the risk stratification process outside of your GP appointment. This process is conducted electronically and without human intervention. The resulting report is then reviewed by a multidisciplinary team of staff within the Practice. This may result in contact being made with you if alterations to the provision of your care are identified.

The ICB has agreed with NHS England s251 support for the NHS Number, as an identifier from both NHS England and GP Practice data, to be used to enable this work to take place. The Data is sent directly into a risk stratification tool called Eclipse from NHS England /GP Practices to enable the data to be linked and processed as described above. GPs can identify individual patients from the risk stratified data when it is necessary to discuss the outcome and consider preventative care. Your GP will use computer-based algorithms or calculations to identify their registered patients who are at most risk. Once the data is within the tool ICB staff only have access to anonymised or aggregated data.

Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEEICB) also uses risk stratified data with pseudonymised (non-identifiable) data to understand the health needs of the local population to plan and commission the right services. This is called risk stratification for commissioning.

Type of Information Used

Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information put into the risk stratification tools used by the ICB:

• Age
• Gender
• GP Practice and Hospital attendances and admissions
• Medications prescribed
• Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health

Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS England to collect identifiable information

A Section 251 support approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of identifiable information about patients included in the datasets.

Data Processing Activities

The practice processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Prescribing Services Ltd (Eclipse) on behalf of the practice. Data is processed by the North of England Commissioning Support Unit on behalf of the ICB.

Opt-out / object details

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included in the risk stratification service you can choose to opt-out through the National Data Opt-Out process.

Where pseudonymised (non-identifiable) data is being used by the ICB, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. The data is used in a format which does not directly identify you. You have the right to object to your information being used in this way; however, you should be aware that your objection may have a negative impact on the timely and proactive provision of your direct care. Should you choose to opt-out, please inform your GP practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme.

Please contact the Practice Manager to discuss how disclosure of your personal data can be limited.

We aim to keep our practice clean and tidy and offer a safe environment to our patients and staff. We endeavour to keep it clean and well maintained at all times.

If you have any concerns about cleanliness or infection control, please report these to our reception staff.

Our GPs and nursing staff follow our Infection Control Policy to ensure the care we deliver and the equipment we use is safe.

We take additional measures to ensure we maintain the highest standards:

• Encourage staff and patients to raise any issues or report any incidents relating to cleanliness and infection control. We can discuss these and identify improvements we can make to avoid any future problems.
• Carry out an annual infection control audit to make sure our infection control procedures are working.
• Provide annual staff updates and training on cleanliness and infection control.
• Review our policies and procedures to make sure they are adequate and meet national guidance.
• Maintain the premises and equipment to a high standard within the available financial resources and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to reduce or remove all infection risk.
• Use washable or disposable materials for items such as couch rolls, modesty curtains, floor coverings, towels etc., and ensure that these are laundered, cleaned or changed frequently to minimise risk of infection.
• Make alcohol hand gel available throughout the building.

My Care Record enables health and care professionals directly involved in your care to access information about you.

Providing you with:

• Better coordinated and seamless care
• Quicker diagnosis and treatment
• Less paperwork and less repetition
• Fewer unnecessary clinical tests
• More accurate prescriptions
• More time to spend on clinical care
• Better health and care planning

Your GP, hospital, community health, mental health and social care teams may all hold important information about your care. We know that when information is made available between services in a more joined-up way, we can better meet your health and wellbeing needs.

We now have a common agreement that health and care organisations within our region will follow. We are calling this My Care Record. Where it is in place, professionals can access relevant information from other organisations that will help to deliver better care to you. For example, a doctor treating you in hospital or a nurse working in the community could view the information they need from your GP record.

Access to your records is made possible by several different types of secure technology. Information about you will only be accessed by health or care professionals who are directly involved in your care. Health and care professionals may access your records from different services to improve the care you receive as a whole.

In some areas, information from care records may also be used to help to plan and design how we deliver better services for you and the local population as a whole. In these cases, your name or any other recognisable information about you are not used so no one working with the information would be able to identify you.

My Care Record is a key part of wider work to provide more joined-up care, connecting people, services and systems. As more care providers develop the technologies to view records across services, the benefits will increase. More information, including answers to frequently asked questions and a list of the organisations that are taking part, can be found by visiting www.mycarerecord.org.uk.

All patients at the practice have a named accountable GP on their clinical record. Your named GP has overall responsibility for your care but you may see any GP of your choosing at the surgery.

If you wish to find out who your named GP is, please use our Contact form or telephone the surgery on 01638 666887.

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges, some charges include VAT where appropriate.

Examples of non-NHS work include the following:

• Medicals for driving requirements (HGV etc.) from £144
• Medicals for Jockeys from £86.40
• Insurance claim forms from £25
• Letters of support, To Whom It May Concern Letters from £30
• Private referral letters required within 5 working days £25

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

Please fill out our Contact Form for further information.

Your Information, Your Rights

Being transparent and providing accessible information to patients about how we will use your personal information is a key element of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2016.

The following notice reminds you of your rights in respect of the above legislation and how your GP practice will use your information for lawful purposes in order to deliver your care and the effective management of the local NHS system.

This notice reflects how we use information for:

• The management of patient records.
• Communication concerning your clinical, social and supported care.
• Ensuring the quality of your care and the best clinical outcomes are achieved through clinical audit and retrospective review.
• Participation in health and social care research.
• The management and clinical planning of services to ensure that appropriate care is in place for our patients today and in the future.

Data Controller

As your registered GP practice, we are the data controller for any personal data that we hold about you.

What Information Do We Collect and Use?

All personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, whether is it received directly from you or from a third party in relation to your care.

We will collect the following types of information from you or about you from a third party (provider organisation) engaged in the delivery of your care:

• Personal data – meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from the data. This includes, but is not limited to name, date of birth, full postcode, address, next of kin and NHS Number.
• Special category/sensitive data – such as medical history including details of appointments and contact with you, medication, emergency appointments and admissions, clinical notes, treatments, results of investigations, supportive care arrangements, social care status, race, ethnic origin, genetics and sexual orientation.

Your healthcare records contain information about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. from an acute hospital, GP surgery, community care provider, mental health care provider, walk-in centre, social services).

These records may be electronic, a paper record or a mixture of both. We use a combination of technologies and working practices to ensure that we keep your information secure and confidential.

Covid-19 Privacy

Our practice has a legal obligation under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 to share pseudonymised patient data in relation to COVID-19. You can read more about this here : OpenSAFELY COVID-19 Service – NHS Digital.

Why Do We Collect This Information?

The NHS Act 2006 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 invests statutory functions on GP practices to promote and provide the health service in England, improve the quality of services, reduce inequalities, conduct research, review performance of services and deliver education and training.

To do this we will need to process your information in accordance with current data protection legislation to:

• Protect your vital interests.
• Pursue our legitimate interests as a provider of medical care, particularly where the individual is a child or a vulnerable adult.
• Perform tasks in the public’s interest.
• Deliver preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, medical research.
• Manage the health and social care system and services.

How Do We Use This Information?

To ensure that you receive the best possible care, your records will be used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS.

Information may also be used for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided. In addition, your information will be used to identify whether you are at risk of a future unplanned hospital admission and/or require support to effectively manage a long term condition.

How is the Information Collected?

Your information will be collected either electronically using secure NHS Mail or a secure electronic transferred over an NHS encrypted network connection. In addition, physical information will be sent to your practice. This information will be retained within your GP’s electronic patient record or within your physical medical records.

Who Will We Share Your Information with?

In order to deliver and coordinate your health and social care, we may share information with other health care organisations:

• Your information will only be shared if it is appropriate for the provision of your care or required to satisfy our statutory function and legal obligations.
• Your information will not be transferred outside of the European Union.

Who do We Receive Information from?

Whilst we might share your information with other health care organisations, we may also receive information from them to ensure that your medical records are kept up to date and so that your GP can provide the appropriate care.

In addition, we received data from NHS Digital (as directed by the Department of Health) such as the uptake of flu vaccinations and disease prevalence in order to assist us to improve out of hospital care.

How do We Maintain the Confidentiality of Your Records?

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information that has been collected lawfully. Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential.

We maintain our duty of confidentiality by conducting annual training and awareness, ensuring access to personal data is limited to the appropriate staff and information is only shared with organisations and individuals that have a legitimate and legal basis for access.

Information is not held for longer than is necessary. We will hold your information in accordance with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2021.

Consent and Objections

Do I Need to Give My Consent?

The GDPR sets a high standard for consent. Consent means offering people genuine choice and control over how their data is used. When consent is used properly, it helps you build trust and enhance your reputation.

However, consent is only one potential lawful basis for processing information. Therefore your GP practice may not need to seek your explicit consent for every instance of processing and sharing your information, on the condition that the processing is carried out in accordance with this notice.

Your GP practice will contact you if they are required to share your information for any other purpose which is not mentioned within this notice. Your consent will be documented within your electronic patient record.

What Will Happen if I Withhold My Consent or Raise an Objection?

You have the right to write to withdraw your consent at any time for any particular instance of processing, provided consent is the legal basis for the processing. Please contact your GP practice for further information and to raise your objection.

Health Risk Screening/Risk Stratification

Health Risk Screening or Risk Stratification is a process that helps your GP to determine whether you are at risk of an unplanned admission or deterioration in health.

By using selected information such as age, gender, NHS number, diagnosis, existing long term condition(s), medication history, patterns of hospital attendances, admissions and periods of access to community care your GP will be able to judge if you are likely to need more support and care from time to time, or if the right services are in place to support the local population’s needs.

To summarise Risk Stratification is used in the NHS to:

• Help decide if a patient is at a greater risk of suffering from a particular condition.
• Prevent an emergency admission.
• Identify if a patient needs medical help to prevent a health condition from getting worse.
• Review and amend provision of current health and social care services.

Your GP will routinely conduct the risk stratification process outside of your GP appointment. This process is conducted electronically and without human intervention.

The resulting report is then reviewed by a multidisciplinary team of staff within the practice. This may result in contact being made with you if alterations to the provision of your care are identified.

A Section 251 Agreement is where the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has granted permission for personal data to be used for the purposes of risk stratification, in acknowledgement that it would overburden the NHS to conduct manual reviews of all patient registers held by individual providers.

As mentioned above, you have the right to object to your information being used in this way. However, you should be aware that your objection may have a negative impact on the timely and proactive provision of your direct care. Please contact the Practice Manager to discuss how disclosure of your personal data can be limited.

Sharing of Electronic Patient Records within the NHS

Electronic patient records are kept in most places where you receive healthcare. Our local electronic systems (such as SystmOne, EMIS and Eclipse) enables your record to be shared with organisations involved in your direct care, such as:

• GP practices.
• Community services such as district nurses, rehabilitation services, telehealth and out of hospital services.
• Child health services that undertake routine treatment or health screening.
• Urgent care organisations, minor injury units or out of hours services.
• Community hospitals.
• Palliative care hospitals.
• Care homes.
• Mental health trusts.
• Hospitals.
• Social care organisations.
• Pharmacies.
• Medical Examiners

In addition, NHS England has implemented the Summary Care Record which contains information about the medication you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medication that you have had in the past.

For more information, please see our Summary Care record page.

Your electronic health record contains lots of information about you. In most cases, particularly for patients with complex conditions and care arrangements, the shared record plays a vital role in delivering the best care and a coordinated response, taking into account all aspects of a person’s physical and mental health.

Many patients are understandably not able to provide a full account of their care, or may not be in a position to do so. The shared record means patients do not have to repeat their medical history in every care setting.

Your record will be automatically setup to be shared with the organisations listed above, however you have the right to ask your GP to disable this function or restrict access to specific elements of your record.

This will mean that the information recorded by your GP will not be visible at any other care setting. You can also reinstate your consent at any time by giving your permission to override your previous dissent.

Primary Care Network

We are a member of Forest Heath Primary Care Network (PCN). This means we will be working closely with a number of other practices and health and care organisations to provide healthcare services to you.

During the course of our work, we may share your information with these practices and health care organisations/professionals. We will only share this information where it relates to your direct healthcare needs.

When we do this, we will always ensure that appropriate agreements are in place to protect your information and keep it safe and secure. This is also what the law requires us to do.

If you would like to see the information the PCN holds about you please contact the Data Protection Officer at:

Data Protection Officer,
Orchard House Surgery,
Fred Archer Way,
Newmarket,
CB8 8NU

Invoice Validation

If you have received treatment within the NHS, the local Commissioning Support Unit
(CSU) may require access to your personal information to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group is responsible for payment for the treatment or procedures you have received.

Information such as your name, address, date of treatment and associated treatment code may be passed onto the CSU to enable them to process the bill. These details are held in a secure environment and kept confidential.

This information is only used to validate invoices in accordance with the current Section 251 Agreement, and will not be shared for any further commissioning purposes.

Your Right of Access to Your Records

The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations allows you to find out what information is held about you including information held within your medical records, either in electronic or physical format.

This is known as the right of subject access. If you would like to have access to all or part of your records, you can make a request in writing to the organisation that you believe holds your information.  This can be your GP, or a provider that is or has delivered your treatment and care.

You should, however, be aware that some details within your health records may be exempt from disclosure, however, this will in the interests of your wellbeing or to protect the identity of a third party. If you would like access to your GP record please submit your request in writing to:

Practice Manager,
Orchard House Surgery,
Fred Archer Way,
Newmarket,
CB8 8NU

Complaints

In the event that your feel your GP practice has not complied with the current data protection legislation, either in responding to your request or in our general processing of your personal information, you should raise your concerns in the first instance in writing to the Practice Manager.

If you remain dissatisfied with our response you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wimslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545700
Website: www.ico.org.uk

We are committed to protecting your privacy. You can access our website without giving us any information about yourself. But sometimes we do need information to provide services that you request, and this statement of privacy explains data collection and use in those situations.

In general, you can visit our web site without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. However there may be occasions when you choose to give us personal information, for example, when you choose to contact us or request information from us. We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you.

We collect the personal data that you may volunteer while using our services. We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as public records or bodies, or private organisations. We do not collect or use personal data for any purpose other than that indicated below:

• To send you confirmation of requests that you have made to us
• To send you information when you request it.

We intend to protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information and we have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to do so. We ensure that your personal data will not be disclosed to State institutions and authorities except if required by law or other regulation.

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should be aware that we don’t have any control over the other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting these sites.

Our website and the services it enables are provided by Silicon Practice. Silicon Practice is a data processor which means that they will only process your personal data on the instruction of the practice, the data controller, unless otherwise required by law. The practice has entered into a data processing agreement with Silicon Practice which is a binding contract setting out the obligations of each party in relation to the processing of personal data.

If you would like to find out more about Silicon Practice you can access details of how they protect data and deliver services in their Data Processing Agreement.

This practice is one of over 400 Research & Surveillance Centre Practices in England, contributing pseudonymised data for national research and surveillance.

This data enables continuous monitoring of infections and diseases in the community and is used in ethically approved research. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research & Surveillance Centre (RSC) is the main source of information for Public Health England (PHE) and helps with prediction and management of flu outbreaks and pandemics.

Providing pseudonymised data does not affect patients, their care or privacy, however, if you no longer wish to allow your information to be used, please speak to your GP.

The pseudonymised data, extracted by an information service provider, Wellbeing Software (also known as Apollo Medical Solutions), is processed within the private and secure network of the Clinical Informatics and Health Outcomes Research Group at the University of Surrey under a formal data-sharing agreement.

The pseudonymised data may be linked with other NHS data for analysis, including hospital episode statistics.

For further information, please visit www.rcgp.org.uk/rsc or contact:

• Prof Simon de Lusignan (Data Controller), Medical Director, by emailing MedicalDirectorRSC@rcgp.org.uk.
• Ms Ivelina Yonova, Practice Liaison Officer, by telephoning 01483 682758.

Use of your data for Research

All NHS organisations are expected to participate and support health and care research, and through the NHS Constitution pledge “to inform you of research studies in which you may be eligible to participate”.

As a research active practice, we may invite you to participate in research studies that may be of interest to you. This may be done via letter, text message and/or by phone. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part.

The research we do helps to identify and provide the best possible care for you, your family and community; research, by finding ways to help prevent illness, and improve treatments and services, making sure they are safe and effective and make the best use of resources and by increasing our understanding about illnesses and what it is like for patients living with these illnesses.

The research we do might involve you filling in in a questionnaire or talking to a researcher about your views, or asking your permission for a researcher to collect information from your medical records as well as research looking at testing a new treatment or therapy. Full information about what will be involved will be given to you to help you make an informed choice about whether to participate. Your decision to participate or not to participate will have no bearing on the care you receive from the practice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Will my details be shared with researchers?

No, not without your consent. Any invitation we send you about a research study we are conducting will be sent by the practice. You are free to decide whether to take part. If you are interested, we may ask your permission to pass your contact details onto the research team, but we will only do this if you agree. Agreeing for your contact details to be passed onto the research team does not mean that you have to take part in the study. The research team will give you more information about what would be involved to help you decide whether or not to take part.

Who will have access to my medical notes?

Individuals at the practice may review your medical notes to check you are suitable for a study before you are invited to take part. This is to make sure that the study is suitable for you. No data from your medical records that can identify you will be shared with research teams unless you explicitly consent to this.

If you decide to take part in a study to which we have invited you, full information will be given about the use of your data and who will have access to data from your medical records. You will be asked to consent to the sharing of your data in this way if you agree to take part in the study.

When might my details be shared?

Anonymised information (i.e. information that cannot identify you) may be shared for health and care research but no one will be able to tell that this information is about you. This is important in helping the NHS to run and improve health and care services. If you opt out of sharing your data for research and planning purposes your data will not be shared in this manner.

Where can I find out more information about the use of my data in health and care research?

Further information on the use of your data in research can be found on the Health Research Authority Website:

Patient information and health and care research – Health Research Authority (hra.nhs.uk)

As part of our contract with NHS England, we are required to put in place several new initiatives in relation to your medical records.

Summary Care Record

All practices are required to provide a regular upload of patient information to the Summary Care Record (SCR). The SCR will only be viewed in emergency or urgent settings with the patients’ consent unless you are unconscious.

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. You can do this by completing our Summary Care Opt Out form.

For more information on the SCR, please visit our Summary Care Record page.

Patient Access to Their Medical Records via SystmOnline

GP practices are now required to promote and offer the facility for patients to view information from their medical records, i.e. medications, allergies, adverse reactions and any information that has been agreed between the GP and patient.

If you do not already have access to request your medication and make appointments online, please Register for Online Services.

We welcome all suggestions and comments on the services provided by the practice.

We endeavour to give our patients the best care and attention possible. We regularly review our service and complaints/suggestions allow us to see areas in which we can improve.

We are continually looking to turn our patients’ feedback into real improvements in the services we provide. We use it to focus on the things that matter most to our patients, carers and their families.

We would like to hear from you if you have a suggestion or comment on how we can do things better to improve our patients’ experiences.

We’d also like to hear from you if you are pleased with the service you’ve received. We’ll let the staff involved know and share the good practice across our teams.

If you would like to submit a suggestion or comment please use our Friends and Family form.

Complaints Procedure

Making a Complaint

Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily with the person concerned, often at the time they arise and this may be the approach you try first.

Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint, you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event, and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:

• within 12 months of the incident
• or, within 12 months of you becoming aware of the matter.

If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority.

We are able to provide you with a separate complaints form to register your complaint and this includes a third-party authority form to enable a complaint to be made by someone else. Please ask at Reception for this. You can provide this in your own format providing this covers all the necessary aspects.

Send your written complaint to the practice Complaints Manager at the surgery address below, or via email to ohs.orchardhouse@nhs.net.

Send your written complaint to Megan Quinlan, the Practice Complaints Manager:

Practice Complaints Manager,
Orchard House Surgery,
Fred Archer Way,
Newmarket,
Suffolk,
CB8 8NU

What We do Next

We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.

We aim to acknowledge receipt within three working days, and to resolve the matter as soon as possible and will try to give you some idea of how long that may take at the outset. You will then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you wish to do so.

When the investigations are complete a final written response will be sent to you.

Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it. In the event the patient is deceased, then we may agree to respond to a family member or anyone acting on their behalf or who has had an interest in the welfare of the patient.

Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed.

Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness, accident or mental capacity, it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances that prevent this in your covering letter.

Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply. You may also find that if you are complaining on behalf of a child who is capable of making their own complaint, we will expect that child to contact us themselves to lodge their complaint.

We may still need to correspond direct with the patient or may be able to deal direct with the third party and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.

If you are Dissatisfied with the Outcome

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you have the right to approach the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman. The contact details are:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Citygate
Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ
Telephone: 0345 0154033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

You may also approach Health Watch or the Suffolk Advocacy Service for help or advice;

The local Health Watch
Website: www.healthwatch.co.uk
Telephone: 03000 68 3000

Suffolk Advocacy Service | Home | POhWER
Website: www.pohwer.nwt/suffolk-advocacy-service
Telephone: 0300 456 2370

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) can provide confidential advice and support, helping to guide you through different public and local services. The contact details are:

Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS)
Suffolk North East Essex ICB
Endeavour House 8 Russell Road Ipswich
IP1 2BX

Telephone: 0800 389 6819 (between 9:30am and 3pm, Monday to Friday)
Email: sneeicb.pals@nhs.net

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

Why do I need a Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example, which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.

Who can see it?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.

How do I know if I have one?

Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by asking your GP.

Do I have to have one?

No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt-out of the scheme, then you will need to complete our Summary Care Record Opt Out form.

For further information visit the NHS Care Records website or the HSCIC website.

The practice and the partners are actively involved in training a range of health care professionals at different stages of their careers. We feel this helps to keep us fresh and up to date, which clearly benefits the practice as a whole.

GP Registrars

The practice has been approved and licensed to train general practitioners (the GP Registrar). GP Registrars are qualified doctors doing 3 years further training to become GPs. We are lucky that they are usually of a very high standard and keep us up to date with new advances.

You may be asked to have your consultation videotaped to help evaluate their consulting skills. This is never done without prior permission and is optional, but is essential for their training.

Student Doctors

The practice is a University teaching practice linked to the Clinical School in Cambridge. For much of the year, student doctors will spend some of their time during training at the surgery. Some of the time will be spent seeing patients with the GPs and some of the time the GPs are acting as their tutors and are teaching them.

Additional doctors work in the practice to make up for the time the doctors spend teaching. Patients will always be asked if they mind seeing a student doctor when students are sitting in surgeries.

Whilst most patients are happy to see the students, we understand that this may not always be acceptable and if this is the case please let the receptionist know when you arrive at the surgery.

Student Nurses

Student nurses from West Suffolk College also attend the surgery for short placements under the supervision of the practice nurses. Once again patients will be asked if they mind a student nurse being present when students are sitting in with the practice nurses.

Patient’s Rights

We are committed to giving you the best possible service. This will be achieved by working together. Help us to help you. You have a right to, and the practice will try to ensure that:

• You will be treated with courtesy and respect.
• You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention that you receive.
• All aspects of your visit will be dealt with in privacy and confidence.
• You will be seen by a doctor of your choice subject to availability.
• In an emergency, out of normal opening hours, if you telephone the practice you will be given the number to receive assistance, which will require no more than one further call.
• You can bring someone with you, however you may be asked to be seen on your own during the consultation.
• Repeat prescriptions will normally be available for collection within two working days of your request.
• Information about our services on offer will be made available to you by way of posters, notice boards and newsletters.
• You have the right to see your medical records or have a copy subject to certain laws.

Patient’s Responsibilities

With these rights come responsibilities and for patients we would respectfully request that you:

• Treat practice staff and doctors with the same consideration and courtesy that you would like yourself. Remember that they are trying to help you.
• Please ensure that you order your repeat medication in plenty of time allowing 2 working days.
• Please ensure that you have a basic first aid kit at home and initiate minor illness and self-care for you and your family.
• Please attend any appointments that have been arranged for you. Let the practice know if your condition has resolved or you no longer wish to attend.
• Please follow up any test or investigations done for you with the person who has requested the investigation.
• Attend appointments on time and check in with reception.
• Patients who are more than 5 minutes late for their appointment will not be seen.
• If you are unable to make your appointment or no longer need it, please give the practice adequate notice that you wish to cancel. Appointments are heavily in demand and missed appointments waste time and delay more urgent patients receiving the treatment they need.
• An appointment is for one person only. Where another family member needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made.
• Please inform us when you move home, change your name or telephone number, so that we can keep our records correct and up to date. You can do this by filling in our Change of Personal Details form.
• Let us have your views. Your ideas and suggestions whether complimentary or critical are important in helping us to provide a first class, safe, friendly service in pleasant surroundings.

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.