In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Chaperones are routinely offered for examinations. Our chaperones are appropriately trained.

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint.

If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please write to the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. These can be submitted via our email [email protected]. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.

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.

Please see the following document for more information on how we use your medical records

Information about the General Practitioners 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.

How we use your medical records

We ask you for information about yourself so that you can receive proper care and treatment.

• We keep records with details of your care because it may be needed if we see you again
• We use information to make sure that our services can meet patient needs in the future
• We use information to protect the health of the public generally – this could be for research or planning
• We use information to help staff review the care they provide to make sure it is of the highest standard
• We use information to train and educate staff (patients have a choice whether or not to be involved)

Bridge Street Surgery will

• Handle medical records in line with laws on data protection and confidentiality
• Share your medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment
• Share your information when the law requires us to do so e.g. to prevent infectious disease from spreading
• Acknowledge that you have a right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide care to you
• Keep your medical records secure, safe and confidential
• Bridge Street Surgery are part of a Primary Care Network alongside Winterton Practice and Central Surgery, Barton.

Your Patient Rights

• It is your right as a patient to ‘opt-out’ of data sharing. This is anonymised confidential information used for treatment and planning.
• Yourself, or people acting for you as proxy, have control over setting and changing your own opt-out choice. You can change your mind on this at any time.

‘Opting-out’

This has to be done by yourself, the surgery cannot do this for you. Please ask reception how to opt out or for more information.

For more information and our Data Protection and Confidentiality policies please read our policies and procedures.

Bridge Street Surgery operate a zero tolerance policy to violence & abusive language

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.