Your Confidential Records

You can be assured that your medical records are safe with Stockwood Medical Practice.  We will only share data that identifies you under the following circumstances:

• With other health care professionals (hospital or community staff) as part of an agreed plan of treatment;
• With your explicit consent, e.g. for participation in research studies;
• In circumstances where it is in the interests of your health and you are not able to give consent, e.g. if you are unconscious
• Where we are obliged to divulge information under the Health & Social Care Act 2012, e.g. in the case of a national emergency or pandemic;
• Where we are required to do so for health service planning purposes and you have not explicitly opted out of having your data shared (see below);
• Please see our Patient Privacy Notice for detailed information.

Our strict rules about confidentiality mean that we will not discuss your medical affairs even with your close family unless you give us permission to do so.  This includes details of appointments you have made.  If you would like your partner, parent, son/daughter or carer to be able to speak to us on your behalf, you must tell us beforehand.  Please ask our Reception Team for a consent form if you require an ongoing arrangement for sharing consent.   You can withdraw your consent at any time.

Summary Care Record (SCR)

Your summary care record is an electronic record of your healthcare history (and other relevant personal information) held on a national healthcare records database provided and facilitated by NHS England. This record may be shared with other healthcare professionals and additions to this record may also be made by relevant healthcare professionals and organisations involved in your direct healthcare. You have the choice of what information you would like to share and with whom.

At a minimum, the SCR holds important information about;

• current medication
• allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines
• the name, address, date of birth and NHS number of the patient

Additional Information in the SCR, such as details of long-term conditions, significant medical history, or specific communications needs, is now included by default for patients with an SCR, unless they have previously told the NHS that they did not want this information to be shared.  There will also be a temporary change to include COVID-19 specific codes in relation to suspected, confirmed, Shielded Patient List and other COVID-19 related information within the Additional Information.

All of our patients who have not chosen to opt out have a Summary Care Record that can be accessed, with the patient’s consent, by hospital and out of hours staff.

You may choose to opt out of having a Summary Care Record.  The websites below will help you to decide on the risks and benefits.

Summary Care Record – NHS England Digital

If you would like to opt out, please print off and complete the following consent form and return it to the surgery.

SCR patient consent preference form – NHS England Digital

At Stockwood Medical Centre we try our best to practice holistic, family centered medicine while following the latest guidance on good medical practice and keeping up-to-date with ongoing changes in the NHS. Sometimes, however, problems arise, and we like to respond swiftly to put these right.

If you are not happy with any aspect of your care, we encourage you in the first instance to mention it to the doctor or member of staff concerned so they can correct the problem. If, however, you are still unhappy then we have a formal complaints procedure, a copy of which is available at reception or can be downloaded. Our Practice Manager will follow up any complaint and is always happy to receive suggestions for improvement to our service.

If you have received great service from any member of our staff, we would also like to know about this. Feel free to call, email, write to us or mention it on your visit to the practice and we will make sure that your praise gets passed on.

You can also complain to the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) if you are not happy with how we have handled your data, please see their contact details here Make a complaint ICO.

Download our Complaints Form.

Download our Compliments Form.

Should you have concerns about a complaint that you do not feel has been resolved by us satisfactorily, or you’d rather not raise the issue directly with the practice, you can direct your concerns to:

NHS England Customer Contact Centre
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
Post: NHS England, PO Box 16728, Redditch, B97 9PT

If you remain unhappy after everything has been done to try to resolve your concern or complaint you also have the right to approach the Ombudsman.

Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Write: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

To make complaints or raise concerns about NHS Services in Bristol, there are also other organisations you can contact. For further details, please view our information leaflet.

Comments/Suggestions

We welcome your comments and suggestions both positive and negative and if you would like a response from us then please leave us your contact details. You can email us at bnssg.stockwood.medicalcentre@nhs.net or complete a suggestions slip and post into our suggestions box in the reception area.

The practice complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. We understand how important it is to keep your personal information safe and secure and we take this very seriously. We have taken steps to make sure your personal information is looked after in the best possible way and we review this regularly.

Please read our Patient Privacy Notice carefully, as it contains important information about how we use the personal and healthcare information we collect on your behalf. If you are between 13-16 you can find information here.

You can also view our ‘Easy Read Privacy Notice’.

View our ‘What is Population Health Management’ document.

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the Practice Manager.

Guide to freedom of information | ICO

Rights of Access

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, GDPR General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Access to Medical Records Act, patients can request to see copies of their medical records. Requests can be made to any part of the practice but should be directed via the reception team. You can request copies, verbally, via email or over the phone. There is no charge to you to request copies of your records. However, there are some instances where we can, please see the ICO page for further information.

Your right of access/ICO

Your Confidential Records

You can be assured that your medical records are safe with Stockwood Medical Practice. We will only share data that identifies you under the following circumstances:

• With other health care professionals (hospital or community staff) as part of an agreed plan of treatment;
• With your explicit consent, eg. for participation in research studies;
• In circumstances where it is in the interests of your health and you are not able to give consent, eg. if you are unconscious
• Where we are obliged to divulge information under the Health & Social Care Act 2012, eg. in the case of a national emergency or pandemic;
• Where we are required to do so for health service planning purposes and you have not explicitly opted out of having your data shared (see Privacy Policy).

Our strict rules about confidentiality mean that we will not discuss your medical affairs even with your close family unless you give us permission to do so. This includes details of appointments you have made. If you would like your partner, parent, son/daughter or carer to be able to speak to us on your behalf, you must tell us beforehand. Please ask our Reception Team for a consent form if you require an ongoing arrangement for sharing consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (eg. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice. This is required in the interests of the greater public accountability recognising GP pay is ultimately funded from tax paid by the public.

The average pay for GPs working in Stockwood Medical Centre in the last financial year was £66,070 before tax and national insurance. This is for 1 full time GP, 7 part time GPs and 0 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

Our Doctors are frequently asked to provide private or ‘To Whom it May Concern’ letters or reports for third parties.  If you require a letter please click here for more information.

Our practice outsources our medical reporting process to Medi2data who will process your medical report using their system, eMR.  If you have requested a medical report and need assistance please speak to medi2data.

All patients who are registered with the surgery need to have a named GP on their medical records. It is for administration purposes only and patients are still free to see the doctor of their choice.

You have all been allocated a named GP. If you wish to know your allocated GP, please speak to a Receptionist.

The Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR) is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

Your summary care record is held on a national healthcare records database provided and facilitated by NHS England. This record may be shared with other healthcare professionals and additions to this record may also be made by relevant healthcare professionals and organisations involved in your direct healthcare. You have the choice of what information you would like to share and with whom.

At a minimum, the SCR holds important information about;

• current medication
• allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines
• the name, address, date of birth and NHS number of the patient

All of our patients who have not chosen to opt out have a Summary Care Record that can be accessed, with the patient’s consent, by hospital and out of hours staff.

You may choose to opt out of having a Summary Care Record.  The website below will help you to decide on the risks and benefits: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-scr

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.

Please view our Zero Tolerance Policy.