Accountable/Named GP
An accountable GP will be assigned to every patient and where a preference is expressed reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate this.
Health Checks
You will be offered a health check when you join the practice. Any patients aged 16 –74 years who have not had a consultation within the last three years may request a consultation.
Patients 75 years and over who have not had a consultation within the last twelve months may request a health check with one of our practice team. If you are unable to attend the surgery, a home visit could be arranged.
Complaint Procedure
Formal Complaints
There are obviously times when you feel we don’t get everything right and you may wish to lodge a more formal complaint. This may concern any aspect of medical care or administrative service. All formal complaints are handled initially by our Practice Manager , Mrs Natalie Dugmore and we follow the national guidelines for managing complaints. We aim to resolve these as quickly as we can.
How To Make a Complaint
Contact the Practice Manager by letter, telephone or in person, giving details of the difficulty you have had. Indicate that you wish to make a complaint. Please be prepared to give details if possible. Portway Family Practice keeps confidential records of all complaints made. The Practice Manager will send you a comment/complaint form to complete if you request this.
It is important that we hear of your complaint as soon as possible after the incident that caused the problem because this will help us establish what has happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:-
Within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem;
Within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem.
What We Will Do
We will confirm receiving your complaint by letter or telephone within 3 working days and agree with you a plan and period of time for dealing with your complaint. After this, we will investigate the problem according to the agreed plan. Sometimes we make a written response to your complaint. When we look into a complaint we aim to:
- Find out what happened;
- Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this;
- If the problem is caused by our actions, do what we can to ensure it does not happen again;
- If appropriate, provide you with an apology.
Many problems arise from lack of communication and understanding on the part of either party, and we hope that by discussion we can eliminate any differences. You may wish to leave the matter there.
If you remain dissatisfied and our response to your complaint does not address your concerns you can refer back to us for further comment if you wish. This should be within 25 working days of receipt of our reply to the complaint and a letter should be addressed to the Outlet Operations Manager. An appointment could be offered to you to discuss the matter with the Outlet Operations Manager and other appropriate members of the Practice, if you would like to do this. This meeting would include discussion of the difficulty or dissatisfaction you have had, comments from the Practice members present and agreements to take possible corrective actions and/or offer apologies. Relevant information from this meeting will be made available to other members of the Practice Team, if considered appropriate.
Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed (we can provide a form), unless they are incapable because of illness of providing this. In this case a permission form would normally be signed by the next of kin of the person concerned.
Has your complaint been dealt with to your satisfaction?
If the answer is no…..here is what you could do next……
Contact Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG who commission general practice services.
You can contact them:
By telephone: 0121 612 4110 (lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm, excluding bank holidays)
By email: [email protected]
By Post: Customer Care Team, Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG, Kingston House, 4th Floor Rear, 438 -450 High Street, West Bromwich. B70 9LD.
Contact NHS England who contract with general practice for the services we deliver.
You can contact them:
By telephone: 0300 311 2233 (lines are open Monday to Friday 8.00am – 6.00pm, excluding bank holidays)
By email: [email protected]
Independent Review
Once you have been through the complaints procedure and if you do not feel satisfied with the final response you have the right under the NHS Complaints Procedure to ask the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman to investigate your case.
You can contact the Health Service Ombudsman on 0845 015 4033 or write to them at:
The Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QPor visit their website at: http://www.ombudsman.org.uk
The Ombudsman is completely independent of both the NHS and the Government but will not normally take up complaints that have not been through the NHS Complaints Procedure first.
Help with writing letters and completing forms can be obtained from the Independent Complaints Advocacy Services (ICAS) on 0845 120 3748.
Complaints
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 contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.
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 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.
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.
GDPR and DPO
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became law on 24th May 2016. This is a single EU-wide regulation on the protection of confidential and sensitive information. It enters into force in the UK on the 25th May 2018, repealing the Data Protection Act (1998).
For further information regarding GDPR please see the links below or ask a member of staff for a leaflet.
GP Earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings for GP’s working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average earnings for GP’s working here at Portway Family Practice in the last financial year was £61686 before Tax, National Insurance and Pensions deductions.
This is for the 2 GP’s who worked in the practice for more than six months.
National Data Opt Out
Please follow the below link for further information; if we receive an ‘Opt Out’ form from you, a member of the Reception team will make contact to discuss.
Proxy Access
Portway Family Practice has a number of patients who book their appointments, request repeat medication and can view certain parts of their medical records online.
Patient Access have now improved their system to allow parents and Carers to be authorised to all of the above-mentioned functions for children or the people they care for.
Any patient or Carer wishing to have proxy access will need to sign up to this service by completing a form available at the practice Reception.
Summary Care Record
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 looking at our interactive map or 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 a form and bring it along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.
More Information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website
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.