Policies and Procedures

If you wish for a chaperone to be present during an examination, please do not hesitate to ask a clinician or one of our receptionists.

It may not be possible for such a person to be provided immediately and you may have to return for the examination to be carried out at a mutually convenient time.

Trust is important in the relationship between clinician and patient and we would at all times, wish you to feel able to ask for a chaperone. It is the policy of the practice to respect the privacy, dignity, cultural and religious beliefs of our patients.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

How to complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.

If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:

• Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing to the Practice Manager. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.

What we will do

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved, if you would like this. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:

• Find out what happened and what went wrong.
• Make it possible for you to discuss what happened with those concerned, if you would like this.
• Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
• Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

We take medical confidentiality seriously. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

Complaining to NHS England

We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure if you are unhappy. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our GP surgery.

However, if you feel you cannot raise the complaint with us directly, please contact NHS England. You can find more information on how to make a complaint at https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/.

Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?

If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.

To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033

Need help making a complaint?

If you want help making a complaint, Healthwatch Norfolk can help you find independent NHS complaints advocacy services in your area.

Please be aware that our staff are bound to the NHS code of confidentiality. Our staff are therefore not permitted to discuss any of our patient’s medical history, including their registration status, without their written consent to do so.

Once we have received their written consent and verified this with the patient, we can then we can provide you with this information. This includes complaining on behalf of a patient, but excludes patients who are unable to act on their own behalf and already have a designated person or carer responsible for their medical care.

We therefore respectfully ask parents and guardians not to request information regarding their relatives, or to complain on their behalf, unless we have their written consent to do so.

Please be aware that we may use new providers or suppliers to help us quickly adapt during the outbreak and to continue your care effectively. For example, we may use a new provider for video consultations. We may not be able to add these to our transparency materials right away, and we apologise for this but please be assured that all of our processors are bound by contract to protect your data.

During COVID-19 we may ask you to send a photograph of your bruise or skin condition that you are concerned about whilst we conduct virtual consultations. This photograph will be used by the clinician to determine any medical treatment necessary and will be added to your medical record.

Please note that as this is sent via email, it may not be secure and we therefore ask that you only include your NHS number alongside your photograph in the email. The photograph should only be of the area requested and no other person should be visible in the shot.

A person who is regarded as ordinarily resident in the UK is eligible for free treatment by a GP. A person is ‘ordinarily resident’ for this purpose if lawfully living in the UK for a settled purpose as part of the regular order of his or her life for the time being. Anyone coming to live in this country would qualify as ordinarily resident. Overseas visitors to the UK are not regarded as ordinarily resident if they do not meet this description.

The following NHS treatment is available to anyone:

• Treatment in an emergency (but not follow up treatment)
• Treatment of certain communicable diseases
• Compulsory psychiatric treatment

To qualify for other NHS treatments you must meet certain conditions, which are outlined below:

EU Nationals

Foreign nations from EU member states have reciprocal arrangements for both dental and medical health care so they can access the full range of NHS services.

Non EU Nationals

Foreign nationals from non-EU countries have no automatic right to NHS healthcare (other than those outlined above). Students and visitors who are going to stay in the UK for less than six months would have to be seen as private patients and would have to pay for their treatment. It is therefore essential that you have medical insurance to pay for any private treatment.

If you are not a student registered at a UK university and you’re not going to stay in the UK for between six months and a year, it may be unlikely that you will be able to receive free NHS Treatment.

If you are unsure of entitlement to NHS treatment, or require further information, please ask the reception staff when you register, and they will advise you accordingly.

Be aware that a valid six month visa does not automatically confer the right to free NHS treatment.

Please note that registering with a GP does not give you automatic entitlement to access free NHS hospital treatment. It is therefore essential that you take out medical insurance for the duration of your visit prior to arrival in the UK.

If you are a student registered at a UK university (and you have documentary proof of this) and are going to stay in the UK for more than six months, you will qualify for NHS treatment from the beginning of your stay and you (and your dependants) will be entitled to NHS treatment and you may register with a GP.

Medical Emergencies

If you need immediate medical assistance (e.g. because of an accident) telephone 999 – the call is free. An operator will ask you which emergency service you require (fire, police or ambulance). You will need to tell the emergency services what has happened and where you are. If someone is injured and needs to go to hospital, an ambulance will arrive and take them to the nearest hospital with an emergency department

If you need urgent treatment but are well enough to travel, please make your own way to the nearest A&E department.

For more information, please review the Information Commissioner’s Office guide on the Freedom of Information Act.

Andaman Surgery takes privacy seriously and we want to provide you with information about your rights, who we share your information with and how we keep it secure.

Please use the links below to find more information about the practice and data protection.

• Transparency
• CCTV
• Telephone Recording
• Case Finding (ECLIPSE)
• Information Sharing Norfolk and Waveney
• Andaman Surgery Processing Activities Log
• Andaman Surgery Processor List

We aim to keep our surgery clean and tidy and offer a safe environment to our patients and staff. We are proud of our practice and endeavour to keep it clean and well maintained at all times.

If you have any concerns about cleanliness or infection control, please report these to our reception staff.

Our GPs and nursing staff follow our infection control policy to ensure the care we deliver and the equipment we use is safe.

We take additional measures to ensure we maintain the highest standards:

• Encourage staff and patients to raise any issues or report any incidents relating to cleanliness and infection control. We can discuss these and identify improvements we can make to avoid any future problems.
• Carry out an annual infection control audit to make sure our infection control procedures are working.
• Provide annual staff updates and training on cleanliness and infection control.
• Review our policies and procedures to make sure they are adequate and meet national guidance.
• Maintain the premises and equipment to a high standard within the available. financial resources and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to reduce or remove all infection risk.
• Use washable or disposable materials for items such as couch rolls, modesty curtains, floor coverings, towels etc., and ensure that these are laundered, cleaned or changed frequently to minimise risk of infection.
• Make alcohol hand rub gel available throughout the building.

There are many services available in Lowestoft to help you to stay healthy. Some of these services can be accessed directly, and for others you need to be registered with a GP practice.

• When you wish to consult a GP about your medical condition, you will need to contact the surgery with which you are registered to arrange to be seen. If you go along to the surgery and do not have an appointment, you may not be seen. The practice may ask you to come back at another time, or may suggest that you are seen by another health care professional or other service.
• When you see your GP about a medical condition, she or he may arrange for further tests to be carried out. If so, they will explain the arrangements for these tests and how you will get the results. These tests may be carried out within the practice or elsewhere.
• If your GP thinks that you need to be seen by a specialist doctor or other health care professional, she or he will refer you. You cannot make an appointment to see an NHS specialist without being referred by your GP.
• If you need a medicine, your GP will give you a prescription which you will need to take to a pharmacy, which will supply the medicine for you.
• If you have a preference for either a male or a female GP please check with the practice before you register.
• An interpreting service is available and the practice can arrange for an interpreter who may work either face-to-face or by telephone.
• If you need to use the interpreting service please ensure you ask to arrange this when requesting an appointment.
• If someone else is contacting the practice on your behalf, please remind them to ask the receptionist to book an interpreter.

Help Your Practice To Help You

• Practices can be busy places and staff try hard to accommodate their patients – in return you are asked to behave in a polite and considerate manner. And there are some things that you can do that help the practice to keep surgeries running smoothly, so that people are seen at the right time.
• When you have an appointment please attend at the time stated, and if you are not able to attend please let the practice know in advance, so that the appointment can be used by someone else who needs it.
• If you do not attend appointments, the practice may de-register you. This means that you would stop being a patient of that practice and would no longer be seen by them.
• If more than one member of your family needs to see the doctor or other health care professional, please request one appointment per patient.
• If you have to discuss a complex medical issue please let the receptionist know so a suitable length of appointment can be arranged.
• Please notify the practice if you change your address and/or telephone or mobile phone number.

What Other Help Is Available

• If you have a cough or cold, or if your child has a minor ailment, your pharmacist may be able to help you.
• If you have an eye problem, you should go to an optometrist.
• If you have a dental problem, you should go to a dentist.
• If you need to see a specialist, your GP will refer you.
• If you become unwell when the surgery is closed, please dial 111 which is a 24 hour emergency cover provided by the NHS.

The current contractual requirement of GP practices is to provide detailed coded online access for patients, the 2020/2021 GP contract does add in a requirement to provide full online access to patients on the condition that appropriate redaction software is available, unfortunately, due to the pandemic, national work on the redaction software has been pushed back and so there is no appropriate redaction software available.

Our Data Protection Officer has been working in the background to raise concerns over a conflict between adhering to data protection legislation and complying with full online access requests.

This is because full online access is a type of subject access request. There is a legal obligation on GP Practices to ensure that the exemptions set out in law are adhered to. For example, third party, serious harm, and child abuse exemptions. Determining whether an exemption applies requires specialist knowledge and training, currently, when a request is submitted, dedicated staff have time to go through the record to confirm whether an exemption applies, this can include requiring input from DPO, and third-party health or social care organisations involved in patient care.

Due to the pandemic, the practice, in line with guidance from our DPO, paused full online records access.

The practice is happy to provide you with a copy of your records through the usual request route when you need them, and we can provide you with detailed coded access should you not already have this.

Anybody in England, whether a resident or overseas visitor, may access primary care services at a GP practice without charge.

Homeless patients are entitled to register with a GP using a temporary address, which may be a friends address or a day centre. The practice address may also be used to register but we will need up to date contact details.

No documents are required to register with a GP, however sometimes we will contact you for further information to confirm your registration.

We request that all new patients should present two forms of identification if you have these. This helps to reduce and prevent fraudulent attempts to obtain or misuse NHS care. Overseas visitors may be asked for additional information to prove NHS entitlement.

If presenting identification, one form should ideally be photographic such as:

• Passport
• Drivers licence
• Official ID card from Public Services body
• Student matriculation card (current year)

Other documents for prove of residency that are acceptable are:

• Recent utility bill (within last 3 months)
• Council tax document
• Television licence
• Payslips (last two months)
• Rent book/agreement (Public Body or Private Landlord)
• Bank statement (Name and address section only required)
• Solicitors letter- (Clearly showing name and address)

If unable to provide photographic evidence then you can present one of the above and one of the following:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce/annulment papers

Why Do I Need a Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.

Who Can See It?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your summary care record.

How Do I Know If I Have One?

Over half of the population of England now have a summary care record. You can find out whether summary care records have come to your area by asking the surgery directly.

Enhanced Summary Care Record

If you wanted to ‘enhance’ your record it would include the following information:

• Significant medical history (past and present)
• Reason for medication
• Anticipatory care information (important in the management of long term conditions)
• Communication preferences
• End of life care information
• Immunisations

You can opt in for an enhanced summary care record at any time.

Children Under The Age Of 16

Patients under 16 years will have an enhanced summary care record created for them unless their GP surgery is advised otherwise. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 then you should make this information available to them if they are old enough to decide for themselves if they want a summary care record.

Whatever you decide, you can change your mind at any time.

If you are a family member or carer of a person and you have concerns that they may not have the mental capability to make this decision, please contact the practice.

Do I Have To Have One?

No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete the summary care opt out form.

More Information

For further information please visit the HSCIC Website.

Sometimes trainee GPs will ‘shadow’ the doctors here at the surgery. This means that the trainee GP will sit and observe the doctor’s appointments. You will always be informed and asked for consent before such an appointment. If you do not wish the trainee to observe then please say so. We will not be offended.

The trainee GP will be able to hold consultations with patients on his/her own. Occasionally the trainee GP will have to video record consultations for training, so that they can watch the way in which they work, and reflect on their style. If you are asked to have your appointment video taped again we will not be offended if you decline, it is your choice. The video tapes are only watched by doctors involved in training and are always erased once the study is completed.

Anyone verbally abusing either a member of staff or the public, or using inappropriate language, will be asked to leave the premises and requested to find another GP.

Anyone who is violent or causes damage will be removed from the list immediately.

Removal From List Circumstances

• Violence and aggression towards staff or members of the public
• Damage to practice property or equipment
• Change of residence to outside of the practice area
• Persistent misuse of the system
• Patients who the doctors are unable to manage clinically e.g. breach of contract with doctor regarding use of prescribed medicine or break down in patient communication

For patients who are disruptive and display aggressive and/or intimidating behaviour and refuse to leave the premises, staff are instructed to dial 999 for police assistance. Charges may then be brought against these individuals.