Zero Tolerance

The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and their staff courteously and act reasonably.

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.

Removal from the Practice List

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Surgery, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.

Your Rights and Responsibilities

Patient’s Rights

We are committed to giving you the best possible service. This will be achieved by working together. Help us to help you.

You have a right to, and the practice will try to ensure that:

  • You will be treated with courtesy and respect
  • You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention that you receive
  • All aspects of your visit will be dealt with in privacy and confidence
  • You will be seen by a doctor of your choice subject to availability
  • In an emergency, out of normal opening hours, if you telephone the practice you will be given the number to receive assistance, which will require no more than one further call
  • You can bring someone with you, however you may be asked to be seen on your own during the consultation
  • Repeat prescriptions will normally be available for collection within two working days of your request
  • Information about our services on offer will be made available to you by way of posters, notice boards and newsletters
  • You have the right to see your medical records or have a copy subject to certain laws.

Patient’s Responsibilities

With these rights come responsibilities and for patients we would respectfully request that you:

  • Treat practice staff and doctors with the same consideration and courtesy that you would like yourself. Remember that they are trying to help you
  • Please ensure that you order your repeat medication in plenty of time allowing 48 working hours.
  • Please ensure that you have a basic first aid kit at home and initiate minor illness and self-care for you and your family.
  • Please attend any specialist appointments that have been arranged for you or cancel them if your condition has resolved or you no longer wish to attend
  • Please follow up any test or investigations done for you with the person who has requested the investigation
  • Attend appointments on time and check in with Reception
  • Patients who are more than 20 minutes late for their appointment may not be seen.
  • If you are unable to make your appointment or no longer need it, please give the practice adequate notice that you wish to cancel. Appointments are heavily in demand and missed appointments waste time and delay more urgent patients receiving the treatment they need
  • An appointment is for one person only. Where another family member needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made
  • Patients should make every effort to present at the surgery to ensure the best use of nursing and medical time. Home visits should be medically justifiable and not requested for social convenience
  • Please inform us when you move home, change your name or telephone number, so that we can keep our records correct and up to date
  • Read the practice leaflets and other information that we give you. They are there to help you use our services. If you do not understand their content please tell us
  • Let us have your views. Your ideas and suggestions whether complimentary or critical are important in helping us to provide a first class, safe, friendly service in pleasant surroundings.

NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. For more information see these websites:

Training Practice

We are very pleased to announce that from September 2015 Acle Medical Centre have been taking part in the teaching of Medical students. A group of 10 students in their second year of study will come to the practice on some Fridays throughout the year. The students will be in the surgery seeing patients and gaining knowledge and experience of working in Primary Care.

  • This medical practice has been approved as meeting the high standards required for the teaching of medical students.
  • Teaching, taking place in this practice, is regularly inspected to ensure quality.
  • So far, GP surgeries in our region have helped Norwich Medical School to train more that 14,000 doctors.

Seeing Patients

The Medical Students will need to gain experience, seeing and talking to real life patients within a consultation. Each Medical Student is bound by the same confidentiality duty as all other NHS Staff. The students will not discuss your
personal details with anyone. They may discuss the things they have learnt with fellow students in their group and medical teachers for educational purposes.

If a student is working with your doctor or nurse on the day of an appointment, you will be advised and have the right to object to their presence if you so wish.

Can you see Medical Students?

We would really appreciate your help with teaching the next generation of doctors. If you have any of the following conditions and are willing to take part please let reception know and we may be in contact:

  • Heart Conditions
  • Lung Conditions
  • Chest Conditions
  • Skin Conditions
  • Blood Disorders

Each patient will be seen by 2 medical students for around 45 minutes. The whole group is supervised by Dr Chandler and Dr Thallon. This will not be like a normal consultation as the students will not be able to advise upon or treat your condition.

The Registrar will on occasion be making video recordings of patient consultations. Under no circumstances will a recording be made without the patient’s consent. Intimate physical examinations will not be recorded.

If you require any more information you can ask reception.

Summary Care Records

About your Summary Care Record

Your Summary Care Record contains important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have previously experienced.

Allowing authorised healthcare staff to have access to this information will improve decision making by doctors and other healthcare professionals and has prevented mistakes being made when patients are being cared for in an emergency or when their GP practice is closed.

Your Summary Care Record also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS Number to help identify you correctly.

You may want to add other details about your care to your Summary Care Record. This will only happen if both you and your GP agree to do this. You should discuss your wishes with your GP practice.

Healthcare staff will have access to this information, so that they can provide safer care, whenever or wherever you need it, anywhere in England.

FAQs

Who can see my Summary Care Record?

Healthcare staff who have access to your Summary Care Record:

  • need to be directly involved in caring for you,
  • need to have an NHS Smartcard with a chip and passcode,
  • will only see the information they need to do their job and,
  • will have their details recorded every time they look at your record.

Healthcare staff will ask for your permission every time they need to look at your Summary Care Record. If they cannot ask you (for example if you are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate), healthcare staff may look at your record without asking you, because they consider that this is in your best interest.

If they have to do this, this decision will be recorded and checked to ensure that the access was appropriate.

What are my choices?

You can choose to have a Summary Care Record or you can choose to opt out.

If you choose to have a Summary Care Record and are registered with a GP practice, you do not need to do anything as a Summary Care Record is created for you.

If you choose to opt out of having a Summary Care Record and do not want a SCR, you need to let your GP practice know by filling in and returning an opt-out form.

If you are unsure if you have already opted out, you should talk to the staff at your GP practice. You can change your mind at any time by simply informing your GP practice and either filling in an opt-out form, or asking your GP practice to create a Summary Care Record for you.

Children and the Summary Care Record

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16, you should make this information available to them and support the child to come to a decision as to whether to have a Summary Care Record or not.

If you believe that your child should opt-out of having a Summary Care Record, we strongly recommend that you discuss this with your child’s GP. This will allow your child’s GP to highlight the consequences of opting-out, prior to you finalising your decision.

Where can I get more information?

For more information about Summary Care Records you can

Suggestions, Comments and Complaints

At this practice we are committed to making sure that you enjoy the best possible health. You and the practice staff have rights and responsibilities.

View more information on our Practice and Patient Agreement.

General Comments & Suggestions

We are committed to providing an efficient and caring service for our patients and would like to hear your views. To make your comments you can:

  • use our online feedback form to let us know how you feel
  • talk to any member of the practice

Complaints

We hope that you will be happy with the quality of service you receive. The Practice Manager is available to discuss any problems or concerns you may have. There is an in-house complaints procedure for dealing with any complaint which may arise, details of which are available at reception.

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.

Practice and Patient Agreement

The Acle Medical Partnership welcomes you as a patient. The various services which we provide are set out in our practice leaflet. As an extension to this our Practice and Patient Agreement determines what you can expect from us and what we in return expect from you, so that we can provide the best service for the greatest number of our patients.

The care of your health is a partnership between yourself and the practice team. The success of this partnership depends on:

  • Establishing a shared responsibility to prevent problems before they occur rather than trying to put them right later.
  • Having a clear understanding of each other’s needs.
  • Developing regular feedback on how you feel about our services.

Only by such co-operation will we be able to improve our services and achieve the ultimate goal of a healthier community.

Our Responsibilities To You

Registration

At registration your health needs will be discussed with you vital information obtained to enable us to care for you until your medical records arrive.

Appointments

  • In this practice we run an appointment system. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you.
  • We aim to see you on time, but some consultations take longer than others and we have no way of knowing about this in advance.
  • If there is a patient with an emergency or a serious problem we will give them priority.
  • Where there is a prolonged delay an explanation will be given by the receptionist.
  • We will always see you on the day if you have an urgent need but not necessarily with a doctor of your choice.

Medical Matters

  • You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention you receive to give you the best possible service.
  • Following discussion you will receive the most appropriate care given by suitably qualified people. No care or treatment will be given without your informed consent.
  • It is our job to give you treatment and advice. In the interest of your health it is important for you to understand all the information given to you.

Enquiries

  • Please keep your phone call brief and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters.
  • If you have not heard from us and would like the results of your test please phone after 14:00 at least one week following your test. We do not generally have access to test results ordered by the hospital. These will be discussed at your next hospital appointment.
  • Please do not ask for or arrange a specialist appointment without first discussing the matter fully with your own doctor.
  • If you later decide you no longer need an appointment made for you, please inform both the hospital and us.
  • We will try to answer the phone promptly and to ensure that sufficient staff are available to do this.
  • If you have undergone tests or X-rays through the practice we will inform you if you need a further appointment.
  • If we consider that you need a second opinion or treatment not available in the practice we will try to inform you of the best way of achieving this.
  • We will provide you with information about how to make suggestions or complaints about the care we offer.
  • We want to improve services and aim to satisfy the majority of our patients; we therefore welcome your comments.

Confidentiality and Courtesy

  • You will be treated as an individual and given courtesy and respect at all times.
  • You have the right to see your health records, which will be kept confidential, subject to any limitations in the law.
  • We will preserve your right to confidentiality at all times. Any enquiries we receive about you by another person will only be given if we have your written permission, this applies to other professionals (solicitors, insurance companies) and members of your family.
  • We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the information, which directly affects your health and the care being offered.
  • People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how to contact them.

Emergency and Urgent Needs

We will arrange a home visit as appropriate for those patients who are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.

We have arranged for a doctor to be available for emergencies occurring outside surgery hours. It is unlikely to be a doctor from this practice.

Your Responsibilities To Us

Appointments

  • Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us straight away if you cannot attend your appointment to enable us to offer the appointment to another patient.
  • Please try to be punctual. If you arrive later than your appointment time you may not be seen as this may cause delays and inconvenience to other patients.
  • Please ask for more than one appointment if you want more than one patient to be seen or if you have a number of complex problems to discuss.
  • If we are running late, please be patient, on another occasion it might be you that needs the extra time. Please do not blame the receptionist.
  • Please only ask for an appointment on the day if you have an urgent medical need that will not wait until the next available routine appointment. Every year the doctors and nurses undertake over 43,000 consultations.

Medical Matters

Being a partner means we have responsibilities to each other and you need to work with us to achieve the best possible outcome for your health.

In return we would ask you to try and follow the medical advice offered, and to take any medication as advised.

Please ask the doctor, nurse or other health care professional involved with your care questions if you are unsure of anything.

Confidentiality and Courtesy

  • We ask that you treat doctors, nurses and all practice staff with the same courtesy and respect. This courtesy is also requested for their families.
  • The receptionist will need to obtain authority from the doctor for you to view your records on the practice premises and in accordance with the Access to Health Records Act. You may be charged a fee.
  • We ask that you preserve the rights of doctors and staff confidentiality by not discussing your health problems or issues affecting the surgery outside the surgery. Please use the appropriate comments system in the practice during opening hours.
  • Please read our practice leaflet, which will help you get the best out of the services we offer. In addition, we constantly aim to improve services and changes will be notified on the patient information board.
  • Please let us know if you change your name or address and telephone numbers, especially if ex-directory so we can contact you if necessary.

Emergency and Urgent Needs

  • Please ask for a home visit only when patients are too ill to visit the surgery. If you are requesting on behalf of someone else please make sure you have discussed this with them first.
  • Please ensure requests for a home visit reach the surgery before 10:30, unless an emergency arises later.

Non-NHS Work

There are certain services not covered by the NHS and for which we make a charge.

If you require a medical examination for a special purpose, please inform the receptionist when you request an appointment so we can allow more time and inform you if a fee is payable. The receptionist will advise the appropriate fee following your consultation.

Please note that a minimum of a 30 minute appointment is necessary for all driving medicals and reports (HGV, PSV or taxi).

For your convenience a debit card machine is available for payment of fees.

Please ask reception for more information on any fees or non-NHS services available at the practice.

Named GP

All patients are allocated a Named Accountable GP. New patients will be advised who their named accountable GP is when they first register at the practice. If you are unaware of who your named GP is please contact the Reception team.

What does ‘accountable’ mean?

The named accountable GP is responsible for the co-ordination of all appropriate services required under the contract and ensure they are delivered to each of their patients where required (based on the clinical judgement of the named accountable GP).

Overall responsibility for patient care has not changed. This role is largely a role of oversight, with patients having one GP within the practice who is responsible for ensuring that this work is carried out on their behalf.

What are the named GP’s responsibilities to 75s and over?

For patients aged 75 and over the named accountable GP is responsible for:

  • Working with relevant associated health and social care professionals to deliver a multi-disciplinary care package that meets the needs of the patient,
  • Ensuring that these patients have access to a health check as set out in section 7.9 of the GMS Contract Regulations.

Does the requirement mean 24-hour responsibility for patients?

No. The named GP will not:

  • take on vicarious responsibility for the work of other doctors or health professionals,
  • take on 24-hour responsibility for the patient, or have to change their working hours. The requirement does not imply personal availability for GPs throughout the working week,
  • be the only GP or clinician who will provide care to that patient.

Can I change my named GP?

We attempt to facilitate these requests and each decision is at the discretion of our GP partners, some GP lists are already unbalanced so we can’t honour many of these requests.

Infection Control Statement

Mission Statement Infection Prevention & Control

At Acle Medical Partnership, the safety and health of our patients, carers and visitors are very important to us. To protect you and your family, and to ensure a safe working environment for all our staff, our Infection Prevention and Control policies and procedures are evidence-based, using Best Practice Guidelines.We feel that preventing and controlling infection is everybody’s responsibility. Therefore;We aim to promote an ethos of reducing the risk of acquiring and transmitting infection by;

  • Education of Staff,
  • Provision of Clinical advice to Service Users,
  • Audit of procedures and environment,
  • Surveillance.

Infection and Control Annual Statement Purpose

This annual statement will be generated in September each year for the previous year. It will summarise:

  • Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our Significant Event procedure),
  • Details of any Infection Prevention and Control Audits undertaken and actions undertaken,
  • Details of Staff Training,
  • Any review and update of policies, procedures and guidelines.

Background

The Link Practitioner for Infection, Prevention and Control for Acle Medical Practice is Practice Nurse Deborah Mann, supported by Practice Manager Victoria Docwra and the Partners and other members of the Practice team.

  • All of the Practice Nurses keep updated on Infection and Prevention Control.
  • Deborah share necessary information with the team and service users.

Significant Events

There have been no recent significant events.

Audits

  • An Infection Prevention and Control Audit was completed
  • An overall score of 85% was achieved.
  • Annual audit to check no post operative infection following Minor Procedure in Practice scored 99%.
  • Audit to check no infection following removal and/or insertion of Nexplanon scored 100%.

Risk Assessments

Risk Assessments are to be carried out so best practice can be established and then followed. Cleaning specifications, frequencies and cleaning schedules are to be firmly established and then followed.

No problems were identified in this year’s cleaning audit though subsequently a problem with dead insects in ceiling lights was noted and corrected.

Procedures are being revised to ensure cleaning specifications and frequencies are adequate for a General Practice Environment.

Staff Training

All Staff keep updated on Infection and Prevention Control by online training and are aware of the importance of hand hygiene, appropriate dress and washing of uniforms and the Sickness Policy.

Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

Policies relating to Infection Prevention and Control are reviewed and are all amended on an on-going as current advice, guidance and legislation changes.

Health Risk Screening – Your Information, Your Rights

What Information Do We Collect?

Your healthcare records contain information about your health and any treatment and care you have received, such as:

  • Your name, address, date of birth and next of kin;
  • Your NHS Number;
  • Your medical history;
  • Test results;
  • Relevant information collected by other health professionals.

This information may be held electronically, on paper or a mixture of both, and is collected to ensure you receive the best possible care, help protect the health of the general public and enable us to manage delivery of NHS services.

What is Health Risk Screening?

Your GP Practice will be screening the electronic health records of patients aged 18 and over already diagnosed with a range of long term conditions. This information will enable us to determine whether you are at risk of an unplanned hospital admission in the next 12 months and will enable us to support you to manage your condition more effectively.

How Do We Use This Information?

The information will help us identify whether you could benefit from the assistance of a multi-disciplinary care team made up of other healthcare providers, social care professionals, a district nurse or support from voluntary sector organisations. Your information will be shared with this team so that we can identify the best support for you.

Do I Need to Do Anything to Give My Permission?

No. You do not need to do anything if you are happy to give your permission for health risk screening. However if details from your healthcare records need to be shared as part of a clinical care discussion within the multi-disciplinary care team, we will contact you to obtain your consent.

What if I DO NOT Want to Give My Permission?

If you have any concerns or wish to opt out of health risk screening you should speak to your Practice Manager. The Practice will ensure that your decision is recorded so your records will not be included in any screening process and/or multidisciplinary care team discussion.

If you require any further information or would like to ask any questions please contact the practice.