Practice Policies

The practice adheres to a large amount of policies relating to our services and your care, some are detailed here in the list below as an example of what you can expect, if you have any questions relating to this page please contact the practice.

Access to Medical Records

Lisson Grove and Woolwell Medical Centre complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulations, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. For further information please ask at Reception.

Every staff member working in this practice has a legal, ethical and contractual duty to keep information confidential. There are occasions when some details may need to be given to others:

We cannot administer your care without controlled sharing of your care across the team. For example administration staff need to have limited access in order to schedule appointments and generate prescriptions.
You may be receiving care from other people such as Social Services, Health Visitor, Consultants and Specialist Nurses. So that we can work together for your benefit we may need to share some information about you.
If you are claiming benefits against a third party or applying for benefits there may be times when a report about your condition may be made on your behalf. We will only do this with your permission.
On occasions the law requires us to pass on information, for example to notify a birth or an infectious disease. Law courts can also insist that medical records are disclosed.
With your permission, your relatives, friends and carers can be kept up to date with your treatment.

We only pass on information to those who genuinely require it. Wherever possible details that identify you will be removed. Anyone who receives information has a duty to keep it confidential.

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the general right to see or have a copy of any personal data held or anything written about you in your health record. If you would like access to any part of your medical records please submit a Subject Access Request.

Chaperone Policy

We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.

You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.

Summary Care Record

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies.

Later on as the central NHS computer system develops, (known as the ‘Summary Care Record’ – SCR), other staff who work in the NHS will be able to access it along with information from hospitals, out of hours services, and specialists letters that may be added as well.

Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on central NHS databases.

As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System.

For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System unless you actively opt out.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The Practice staff shall always show due respect and courtesy when dealing with patients and their representatives. We respectfully request that patients and their representatives do the same when dealing with members of the practice team.

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.

No form of aggression (whether verbal or physical in nature) will be tolerated – any instances of such behaviour on the practice premises may result in the perpetrator being reported to the Police and removed from the practice’s List of Registered Patients.

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.

Prescribing for Fear of Flying