Practice Policies & Patient Information
Access to Health Records and Data Sharing
How we use your data
Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.
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.
Summary Care Record
Summary Care Record (SCR) is a national database that holds electronic records of important patient information such as current medication, allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines, created from GP medical records. It can be seen and used by authorised staff in other areas of the health and care system involved in the patient’s direct care.
If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything. If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening.
For more information, please visit NHS Digital: Summary Care Record – NHS Digital
National Data Opt-out
The national data opt-out allows a patient to choose if they do not want their confidential patient information to be used for purposes beyond their individual care and treatment – for research and planning. Patients, or people acting for them by proxy, have control over setting or changing their own opt-out choice, and can change their mind at any time.
For more information regarding this, please visit the Digital NHS Website: National data opt-out – NHS Digital
Virtual Consultations
We are pleased to be offering new ways of consulting without patients including video consultations and PATCHs. These are convenient ways for our patients to access healthcare and advice. The highest confidentiality and security standards are applied to ensure patient data acquired by these methods is always kept secure.
Photographs
You may send a photograph as part of your assessment in an email, as part of PATCHs, or via text. This photograph will be put into your medical record and be protected under the Data Protection Act 2018. This means the picture will only be used for the purpose of your care and will be kept secure.
Please note the photograph may need to be process by administrative staff members and may need to be assessed by another clinician other than who you may have specified, dependent on which doctor or nurse is on duty.
AccuRx
AccuRx is a new software enabling a Practice to communicate with patients via SMS. Messages are sent regarding appointment bookings, health advice, blood results and other administrative matters
Accountable / Named GP for All Patients
As part of the commitment to more personalised care for patients, NHS Employers and the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association have agreed that all patients will have a named accountable GP.
The ‘Named’ GP will:
- Take lead responsibility for ensuring that all appropriate services required under the contract with the practice are delivered to you
- Where required, based on the professional judgement of the ‘named’ GP, work with relevant associated health and social care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary care package that meets your needs.
- Ensure that your physical and psychological needs are recognised and responded to by the relevant clinicians in the practice
- Ensure that patients over 75 years of age have access to a health check if requested, which is already a requirement of the GP contract regulations.
Cedars Medical Centre will ensure that there is a named accountable GP assigned to each patient.
New patients will be allocated a GP at the time of registration.
Your named accountable GP will be Dr Ritu Prasad however this does not affect your ability to see any GP of your choice as you currently do.
If you choose to see another doctor at the surgery, you are entirely free to go on doing so exactly as before.
Chaperone Policy
A chaperone is someone who accompanies another person somewhere in order to make sure that they do not come to any harm. The chaperone will be an impartial observer. All patients are entitled to a chaperone to be present during any consultations, examination or procedure where they feel it is required.
This policy explains the role of a chaperone when they are present during consultations to provide support to the patient and to protect the healthcare professional against allegations of improper behaviour during such consultations.
Click here for more information.
Complaints Procedure
Read/Download out Complaints Leaflet
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from a doctor or any member of staff working at Cedars Medical Centre, please let us know. We operate a Practice Complaints Procedure as part of the NHS system, which meets the national criteria.
If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, please note that we adhere to strict rules of medical confidentiality and will not be able to act on this complaint without the patient’s permission on a signed and dated consent letter.
If the complaint is regarding a deceased patient, the practice will proceed with an investigation.
Ideally you need to make your complaint as soon as possible, but ideally within six months of the incident that caused the problem or within six months of discovering that you have a problem. This will enable us to gather all the information whilst still fresh.
The Procedure
We aim to sort out most problems easily and quickly and often at the time that they arise. If your problem cannot be sorted immediately and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know in writing as soon as possible.
All complaints should be addressed to the Practice Manager at the Practice, who will ensure that your complaint is dealt with promptly.
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days of receipt. We aim to have looked into the matter within ten working days, although this will be determined by the complexity of the complaint and access to those involved. It is our intention then to be in a position to offer you a response or a meeting with the people involved or, if there is to be a delay in responding (for instance, due to staff absences or a third party not directly employed by practice), to keep you updated of the progress of your complaint.
When we look into your complaint we will aim to:
- Investigate the problem with all members of staff concerned
- Notify you of the outcome of the investigation with a satisfactory explanation
- Identify the problem with a view to improving the service we offer to our patients
We hope that you will use the Cedars Medical Centre Complaints Procedure so that we are able to resolve the problem and have the opportunity to improve our service to you, but if you choose not to contact us you can approach NHS England direct at [email protected] or on 0113 254 5000
If neither body helps resolve the issue, you have the right to approach the Ombudsman on 0345 015 4033 and at [email protected]
The Care Quality Commission is always interested in both issues and outcomes. Details can be forwarded to [email protected] though please be aware they are not involved in the resolution process.
Contact Details – Telephone no 020 8429 9595
- Jane England – Complaints Coordinator
- Mohammed Anis – Practice Manager
- Contact us online
Infection Control Statement 2023
View Our Infection Control Statement for 2023
Net GP Earnings
All GP Practices are required to declare mean earnings (i.e. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in the practice of Cedars Medical Centre in the last financial year was £17,531 before tax and National Insurance.
This is for 2 full time GPs, 3 part time GPs and 1 Locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.
Privacy Notice
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