OTHER INFORMATION

OUR POLICY ON VIOLENCE

Patients resorting to physical violence and verbal abuse is a growing concern in the NHS. GPs, practice nurses and other staff have the right to care for others without the fear of verbal abuse or violence. Please note it is our practice to remove from our list any patient that is abusive or violent towards GPs, nurses or other staff.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION - PUBLICATION SCHEME

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available. This scheme is available from reception.

The Act recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how decisions are made.

It obliges General Practices to respond to requests about information that they hold and record in any format and it invokes a right to access that information. These rights are subject to some exemptions, which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information can be released.

The Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of patients to protection of their patient confidentiality. Maintaining the legal rights regarding patients' confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part.

In addition to accessing the information identified in our publication scheme, you may request information about Riley House Surgery under the NHS Openness Code 1995.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you. However, some exemptions also apply here.

COMPLAINTS

Whilst every effort is made to give satisfaction to our patients, we are aware that occasionally a patient may feel they have reason to complain. If you have any complaints please address these to the doctor concerned.

PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

We ask for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of the multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between those members.