Surgery Information & Policies
Our Practice Policies:
Access your Records
You have a right to access your health records, you can access most of your medical records via the NHS App. If you wish to obtain a full print out of your medical record you will need to fill out a subject access request ”SAR” form.
If you have any queries about your medical record please speak to a member of the reception team, either in person or call us on 01606 544850
Assistance Dogs and other animals
Assistance dogs are welcome at this organisation as we are committed to providing services that are equally accessible and responsive to all sections of the community. This includes assistance dogs in training along with their walker or sponsor.
This organisation adheres to the guidance detailed in the RCN’s Working with Dogs in Health Care Settings whereby pets are not permitted into healthcare settings unless in exceptional circumstances.
Definition:
The Equality Act 2010 defines an assistance dog as:
- A dog that has been trained to guide a blind person
- A dog that has been trained to assist a deaf person
- A dog that has been trained by a prescribed charity to assist a disabled person who has a disability that consists of epilepsy or otherwise affects the person’s mobility, manual dexterity, physical co-ordination or ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
- A dog of a prescribed category that has been trained to assist a disabled person who has a disability (other than those described above)
Assistance dogs are working dogs that have been rigorously trained by the following associations:
- Guide Dogs for the Blind
- Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
- Support Dogs
- Dogs for the Disabled
- Canine Partners
- Dog A.I.D
- Medical Detection Dogs
- Dogs for Good
- Service Dogs UK
- The Seeing Dogs Alliance
- Veterans with Dogs
Registered assistance dogs are working animals, not pets, and are relied on by their owners for independence. Each charity will have their own agreements outlining the expectations and responsibilities of the owner. They will also regularly monitor the owner and the dog to ensure their expectations are fulfilled. Information about these charities can be found at www.assistancedogs.org.uk.
It is important to note that there is no legal requirement for assistance dogs to have been trained by a charity, or for them to carry specific identification, therefore there is no ‘proof’ that can be requested. Without any identity or any proof of training, it is not possible to confirm whether the animal is a pet or an assistance dog.
Further to this, in healthcare settings, there has been a significant growth in the number of working therapy dogs that help people with physical conditions and also assist with mental wellbeing.
The two main classifications of therapy dog are:
- Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), which is delivered in conjunction with other healthcare professionals, is ordinarily goal directed with the outcomes documented and evaluated
- Animal-assisted activity (AAA) is the term used when a handler brings a dog to the patient/resident for general interaction. These dogs are usually owned by the person who is their handler. This is also termed as being an emotional support animal (ESA) and further information on this can be found here. ESAs are pets that are required for a person’s ongoing mental health treatment or for their hidden disability.
Due to the nature of primary care, therapy dogs are unlikely to be needed within this organisation. Likewise, ESAs do not have the same legal recognition as an assistance dog.
Clinic Punctuality
Clinic lateness
The organisation is fully committed to running to schedule and, should this not be the case, patients will be advised at the earliest opportunity as to the reasons why and the expected duration of the delay. Reasons for delay may be, but are not limited to:
- Medical emergencies
- Complex routine appointments overrunning
- Delay in staff arriving due to external factors beyond their control
- Administrative error by a patient or staff member
In all cases, reception staff must advise patients accordingly.
Management of waiting patients
Should staff note a patient has been waiting for more than 20 minutes, they should apologise to the patient, explaining the reason(s) for the delay. In the case of an administrative error, the administration team should advise the clinician of this and confirm the patient did not arrive late for their appointment.
Comments & Complaints
Freedom of Information
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.
GMS Contractual Requirement and Statement of Intent
Offering and promoting Patient Online services by March 2020
Practice Statement of Intent
Practice contact details
Surgery Name: Witton Street Surgery
Address: 162 Witton Street, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 5QU
Telephone: 01606 544850
Email Address: cmicb-cheshire.wittonstreetsurgery@nhs.net
Current online patient services
GP System Supplier – EMIS Web
GP System Version – EMIS Web 4.9.0.0200
GMS 2020-21 Contractual Requirement for Patient Online Services
It is a contractual requirement for GP practices to offer and promote to patients:
1. Referral Management
2. Electronic/Online booking of appointments
3. Electronic/Ordering of repeat prescriptions
4. Summary Care Record
5. GP2GP transfers
6. Patient access to summary information (as a minimum) to their patient record
If you need any guidance, advice or support (including contact details), please visit NHS England’s Patient Online Programme’s web pages for more information
http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/patient-online/
1. Referral Management
All practices must include the NHS Number as the primary identifier in all NHS clinical correspondence issued by the practice.
We include all NHS numbers in all our clinical correspondence
2. Electronic/Online booking of appointments
Practices are required to promote and offer the facility for all patients, who wish to book, view, amend, cancel and print appointments online.
We currently offer the facility for booking, cancelling, amend, view and print appointments online.
3. Electronic/Ordering of repeat prescriptions
Practices are required to promote and offer the facility for all patients, who wish to order online, view and print a list of their repeat prescriptions for necessary drugs, medicines or appliances.
We currently offer the facility for ordering repeat prescriptions online.
4. Summary Care Record
Practices are required to enable successful automated uploads of any changes to a patient’s summary information, at least on a daily basis to the Summary Care Record.
Having your Summary Care Record available will help anyone treating you without your full medical record. They will have access to information about any medication you may be taking and any drugs that you have a recorded allergy or sensitivity to.
Witton Street Surgery is live with SCR. Patient’s summary care records are uploaded on a daily basis to the spine, excluding those patients who have chosen to opt out, and have read and understand the implications of completing the opt out form.
5. GP2GP record transfers
There is a contractual requirement to utilise the GP2GP facility for the transfer of patient records between practices, when a patient registers or deregisters.
It is very important that you are registered with a doctor at all times. If you leave your GP and register with a new GP, your medical records will be removed from your previous doctor and forwarded on to your new GP via NHS England. It can take several weeks for your paper records to reach your new surgery. With GP to GP record transfers, your electronic record is transferred to your new practice much sooner.
Witton Street Surgery confirms that GP2GP transfers are already active and we send and receive patient records via this system.
6. Patient Access to records
Practices are required to promote and offer the facility for patients to view online, export or print any summary of information from their records relating to medications, allergies, adverse reactions and any other items/data such as “additional” record elements which has been agreed between the contractor and the patient.
Witton Street Surgery confirms that Patient Access is available to our patients. Patients who have registered for online services, will be able to view/print their current problems, current repeat medication, immunisations and any allergy/adverse reactions.
Patient & Children’s Privacy Policies
Please download a copy of our Patient Privacy Notice and our Young Persons Patient Privacy Notice
Patient Punctuality
Patient Responsibility:
The NHS Constitution explains that patients should “keep appointments or cancel within a reasonable time. Receiving treatment within the maximum waiting times may be compromised unless you do”.
It is a courtesy and expectation that patients inform this organisation as soon as possible if they are aware they will be late for an appointment.
Management of late arrivals:
To adhere to the appointment schedule and to ensure all patients receive an excellent level of service, late arrivals are to be managed as follows:
Less than 10 minutes late – staff will:
- Mark the patient as having arrived, advising them that the clinician may already be seeing the next patient
- Explain that the patient will be seen after the clinician has finished with their current patient
- If appropriate, remind the patient of the importance of attending appointments on time
More than 10 minutes late – staff will advise the patient that they have missed their appointment and offer the following as appropriate:
- Offer the patient an appointment later during that session or that day (if an appointment is available)
- Discuss the patient with the clinician and, if in agreement, and the patient is willing to wait, advise that they will be seen at the end of that session. The patient should be made aware that this may be some time.
- Should the above option not be possible, the patient should rebook for another appointment
It should be noted that it is at the discretion of the clinician whether the patient is seen or not; there may be a valid reason for being late and each patient will advise staff accordingly. Ideally, clinicians are to be informed of any late arrivals via a screen message.
Publication of GP Earnings
NHS England requires that net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice are publicised, and the required disclosure is shown below.
However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice, and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, or to make any comparison with any other practice.
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in the Witton Street Surgery in the last financial year 2018/19 was £85,471.42 before tax and national insurance.
This is for 4 GP Partners and 2 Associate GPs.
Violent and Abusive behaviour
It is acknowledged that a small minority of patients may become abusive or violent towards staff making it difficult for the healthcare team to provide services. This organisation has zero tolerance towards such behaviour and is committed to reducing the risk to staff and other patients resulting from such behaviour.
Inappropriate behaviour is defined as being unacceptable if:
- It is unwanted by the recipient
- It has the purpose or effect of violating the recipient’s dignity and/or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment
Inappropriate behaviour does not have to be face-to-face and may take other forms including written, telephone or e-mail communications or through social media.
What constitutes inappropriate or unreasonable behaviour could be viewed as a subjective matter. Therefore, to ensure objectivity and prior to any further actions being taken, incidents of inappropriate behaviour will be discussed with a member of the senior management team.
Your Healthcare Data
It is important that we, the NHS, can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. We would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community service, to help us provide a full picture. This will allow us to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so we can see what has worked best.
Information such as your postcode and NHS number, but not your name, will be used to link your records in a secure system, so your identity is protected. Information which does not reveal your identity can then be used by others, such as researchers and those planning health services, to make sure we provide the best care possible for everyone.
How your information is used and shared is controlled by law and strict rules are in place to protect your privacy.