Kirby Malzeard & Masham Surgeries

OUR PRACTICE CHARTER

Your Medical Records, Privacy And Confidentiality

• Your medical records are a history of your health, your illnesses, prescriptions, investigations and any other medical treatment you have had.
• You have a right to keep your personal health information confidential. The relationship between you and your doctor is special.
• We now keep your records on our practice computer system, so we are able to share information among those responsible for your care, unless you ask us not to. Remember all members of our team have signed confidentiality agreements in their contracts.
• We need to find the right balance between watching over your personal privacy and providing good health care, which may depend on those who care for you having access to information.
• You have the right to see and correct your records whether these are on computer or in writing. There may be a small charge for administration and photocopying.
• Sometimes we must release medical information about you to other people or organisations. This can happen in the following ways:
• Life or health insurance companies, and sometimes solicitors, may need information but only with your consent. Benefit agencies also ask us for details which we provide, since it is in your interest that we do so.
• Health authorities need anonymised information both for statistical reasons and as the basis for making payments to the practice.
• The law sometimes requires information for public health reasons, for example about illnesses such as meningitis. Law courts can also make doctors disclose medical records to them and they cannot refuse to co-operate.

Further details about the practice's policy on privacy and confidentiality are available on request.

Your Responsibilities To The Practice

• To ensure you get the best care possible it is important that the records we keep about you are accurate. We would therefore ask you to inform us as soon as possible whenever there is a change in your circumstances. This may include a change of telephone number, address or name. We may, from time to time, ask you if the details we hold of you are still correct.
• Please do everything you can to keep appointments or tell us as soon as possible if you cannot. Otherwise other patients may have to wait longer.
• Please ask for home visits by the doctor only when the patient is too ill to visit the surgery.
• Please keep your morning phone calls as brief as possible and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters.
• We ask that you treat the doctors, health professionals and practice staff with courtesy and respect as we operate a zero tolerance policy for violent and abusive behaviour. Any patient in breach of this policy will be removed from the practice list of registered patients.
• Remember you are responsible for your own health and the health of your children.
• We will give you our professional help and advice, so please act upon it.

COMPLAINTS

We aim to provide a high standard of health care which closely reflects the needs of our patients. However, if you are dissatisfied with the service you receive from any member of the practice team, please address your complaint to the practice manager. He will ensure that your grievance is investigated promptly, with an appropriate response issued within two weeks. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint he will assist you in obtaining further help from the health authority.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All patient indentifiable information is kept with the strictest confidence. The rules of the Data Protection Act are applied.