You may request a suitably trained chaperone for any procedure, test or examination. The Clinician examining you may also request a chaperone.

Friends or family are not permitted to act as chaperones.

Please note:

Both male and female clinical team members work within the practice, if you have a preference, please ensure you discuss this when you book your appointment.

For more information, please speak to reception.

The doctors, healthcare and administration staff at Launceston Close Surgery endeavour to provide you with an excellent service and high quality patient centred care.  However, we recognise that there are times when you may feel that this has not been the case.  Please click here to access our complaints leaflet which explains how to make a complaint.  We welcome all complaints and suggestions from patients.

Download a copy of our Complaints Procedure

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.

Your Data Matters to the NHS

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

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and GDPR 2018 you are entitled to request information from your clinical records, or any other personal data that we hold about you.

Provision of Information to Third Parties

The practice may share your personal information with other NHS organisations where this is lawful and appropriate for your health care. In other circumstances we may approach you for specific consent to release personal information to a third party. Information will not normally be released to other family members without written patient consent.

In some circumstances there are statutory or ethical obligations (for example, in connection with public health) for information to be disclosed to one or more third parties without your consent, however you may be consulted about these in advance.

All staff have access to some or all of your personal information and health record, but only to the extent required in relation to their roles, governed by employee contractual confidentiality agreements and by the legal requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and GDPR 2018.

More information about accessing your records can be found at View your GP health record – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (eg average pay) for GP’s working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GP’s working at Launceston Close Surgery in the 2021/22 financial year was £56,240 before tax and National Insurance.

This is for 1 part-time GP and 2 locum GP’s who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Introduction

This protocol sets out the procedure to follow where a patient:

• Is late for their appointment, but is less than 10 minutes
• Is more than 10 minutes late

General Policy

Patients have a duty to attend for pre-booked appointments promptly, and to take into account logistical difficulties or the time involved in travelling to the surgery.

The practice will, as far as practicable, see patients who arrive late, however this may be at the end of surgery and will therefore involve a considerable wait for those who do not wish to re-book.

The following general provisions will apply:

Less than 10 minutes late

The patient will be marked as an arrival in their pre-booked “slot”. The doctor or nurse will call them in at the first available opportunity. The patient should be advised of this and that there may be some delay while they are fitted in.

More than 10 minutes late

The patient has clearly missed the appointment and should be encouraged to rebook. Where there is an indication of clinical urgency then they may be added to the end of the surgery list. In all cases, the doctor will be sent a message advising them that the patient has reported late, and what the outcome regarding future appointments is.

Patient Rights

❖ Patients are entitled to be provided with services in a courteous, civil and co-operative manner

❖ A clear explanation of, and advice on the patient’s medical condition and any proposed treatment will be given

❖ A referral for specialist medical opinion or second opinion in appropriate circumstances

❖ To request to be seen by a particular Doctor unless the preferred Doctor is unavailable

❖ Patients aged 16-74 who have not been seen at the practice for 3 years or more are entitled to a health check on request

❖ Patients who are over 75 are entitled to an annual health check on request

❖ The rights to a Chaperone at any appointment.

Patient Responsibilities

❖ The practice is entitled to receive co-operation, civility and courtesy from its patients at all times

❖ Patient arriving late for their appointments will only be seen at the Doctors discretion

❖ Parents are expected to take full responsibility for their children whilst on the surgery
premises

❖ If for whatever reason you are unable to attend an appointment please cancel it, so we are able to offer it to another patient

❖ Please advise the surgery of any change in your personal details (eg name address etc) as soon as possible

❖ Please be patient if the Doctor is running late – remember it might be you who needs the extra time on another occasion

❖ Read the practice leaflet and notice board, this will help you to get the best from the
services available

❖ Don’t ask for another member of the family to be seen at your appointment without
making prior arrangements

❖ The practice will not accept repeated abuse of its facilities including emergency or out of hours service

❖ The practice operates a zero tolerance policy to violence/ abuse

Any patient or relative who in the opinion of the Partners or the Practice Manager does
not comply with this, will be removed from the practice list.

GMS Contractual Requirement and Statement of Intent

Please view our Privacy Policy here.

There is a Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It 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.

Our Practice Staff are here to help you and our aim is to be polite and helpful to all patients. The staff, have the right to go about their work without fear or threat of verbal or physical abuse.

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.