Policies and Procedures
The practice is committed to the promotion of effective and clear communication by which ever means is appropriate to the circumstances. This will include email, letters and written material, telephone, internet discussion forums or other medium which may be used from time to time.
The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
- To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practioners 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.
Access to Records
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.
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Due to an increase in the number of wasted appointments through patients failing to attend appointments without informing the surgery, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:
If you repeatedly fail to attend appointments you may be removed from this practice list and required to find an alternative doctor.
If you cannot attend your appointments for any reason please let us know as soon as possible, giving at least 24 hours notice. We can then offer the appointment to someone else.
Thank you for your co-operation.
The Wandsworth Medical Centre is committed to providing high quality care to patients at all times. We aim to provide a framework for staff with guidance on the promotion of aspects of care which affect the dignity, respect and privacy of our patients. We also recognise the fundamental importance of maintaining the dignity, respect and privacy of all our patients wherever care is provided for them either in the practice or via home visits.
Wandsworth Medical Centre takes our responsibilities associated with Data Protection seriously. Please find below a copy of our Privacy Notice which tells you how we handle and use your personal information. In addition to this, should you require access to your information we would appreciate if you could complete a copy of Practice’s application form to access your records and follow the instructions on the form.
2. Privacy Information Leaflet
3. Subject Access Request Form
4. Patient Consent Form Medical Records
Our ICO Registration Number is: Z4931463
https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Search
Our Data Protection Officer is Umar Sabat, he can be contacted at dpo.swl@nhs.net
All GP practices in England are legally required to share data with NHS Digital for this purpose under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (2012 Act). More information about this requirement is contained in the data provision notice issued by NHS Digital to GP practices. You have the choice to opt out if you wish to you need to complete the Register your Type 1 Opt-Out Preference form.
You can learn more about how NHS Digital uses your data here: General Practice Data for Planning and Research: GP Practice Privacy Notice – NHS Digital.
This policy sets out the procedure to follow where a patient:
- Is late for their appointment, but is less than 10 minutes late
- Is more than 10 minutes late, and less than 20 minutes late
- Is more than 20 minutes late
Or:
- Telephones at short notice to advise that they will be late, in which case the above provisions will apply.
The NHS provides free health care for most people and most of the services offered by Wandsworth Medical Centre are free under the NHS.
However, some services are not covered under the NHS and for these we charge a fee.
To find out more about the service and fees: