Sheringham Medical Practice takes privacy seriously and we want to provide you with information about your rights, who we share your information with and how we keep it secure.
Please use the links below to find more information about the practice and data protection.
Case Finding (ECLIPSE)
Information Sharing in Suffolk
Information Sharing Norfolk and Waveney
Learning disability charity Mencap, in partnership with NHS England, has launched a new animation and online guides called Don’t Miss Out to raise awareness of the importance for people with a learning disability to be on their GP’s learning disability register.
If people with a learning disability tell their GP’s they have a learning disability they are entitled to extra help. This can include:
For more information visit the MENCAP website.
Visit the website for over 390 easy read resources on about 120 health conditions or topics.
www.easyhealth.org.uk – Easy Read Health Leaflets and Films
Introduction
The accessible information standard aims to ensure that disabled people have access to information they can understand and the communication support they may need. The Standard applies to service providers across the NHS and adult social care system. As organisations that provide NHS services, GP practices are required by law to follow the Standard under Section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act.
There are five key requirements of the standard:
We will ask patients and their carers to tell us if they have any communication or information needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss, and if so, what they are.
New patients will be asked at the point of registration if they have any communication or information needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss, and if so, what they are (there is a section on the New Patient Questionnaire that covers this question).
Existing patients can be asked opportunistically (e.g. when making an appointment, with repeat prescriptions, newsletters, posters, email, text message, information screens, website).
Patients should be asked to self-define their communication/information needs and it is these needs (and not the disability) which should be recorded.
Once a patient has informed the practice that they have communication or information needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss they will be asked or assisted in completing the communication or information needs template.
This is designed to enable us to have as much accurate information as possible to assist the patient. Once completed and returned this information will be added to the patient’s medical record using the approved template to create a protocol to provide information to all users that access the record.
In order to inform all users and provide the opportunity to keep information up to date the protocol will launch each time the patient’s record is entered informing the user of the patients access needs and giving the opportunity for these to be updated if required.
As the information is being recorded in a standardised way via Read Code and users are being informed of any needs every time they enter the record the information recorded will be shared subject to patient’s choice regarding the sharing of information.
The practice provides one or more contact methods which are accessible to the patients. Methods include email, text message, telephone and text.
Where information/communication needs are identified, information (e.g. correspondence) will be provided in one or more accessible formats (e.g. non standard print). Alternative formats can be provided if available either through auto generated systems, or through prompting staff to make alternative arrangements. The adjustments made should be reasonable – but this does not mean that the patient must always receive information in their preferred format. What is important is that they can access and understand the information.
Where needed, appropriate professional communication support is arranged by the practice to enable patients and carers to effectively receive NHS care i.e. text talk, interpreters.
A patient’s family member, friend or carer may also provide necessary support in certain circumstances and where this is the patent’s explicit preference (which should be recorded);
Patients or carers themselves must not be asked to meet the costs of any information or communication needs.
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.
If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing to the Practice Manager. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved, if you would like this. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:
We take medical confidentiality seriously. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure if you are unhappy. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our GP surgery.
However, if you feel you cannot raise the complaint with us directly, please contact NHS England. You can find more information on how to make a complaint at https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/.
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033
If you want help making a complaint, Healthwatch Norfolk can help you find independent NHS complaints advocacy services in your area.