Practice Policies & Patient Information

Chaperones

Complaints Procedure

Talk To Us

Every patient has the right to make a complaint about the treatment or care they have received at Hampton Medical Centre.

We understand that we may not always get everything right and, by telling us about the problem you have encountered, we will be able our services and patient experience.

Who To Talk To

Most complaints can be resolved at a local level. Please speak to member of staff if you have a complaint; our staff are trained to handle complaints. Alternatively, ask to speak to the complaints manager, Anisha Amin, Practice Manager.

If for any reason you do not want to speak to a member of our staff, then you can request that NHS Commissioning Board investigates your complaint.

Telephone: 020 8221 5750 or Email: nelondonicb.complaints@nhs.net

In writing:

Complaints Department

NHS North East London

4th Floor – Unex Tower

5 Station Street

London E15 1DA

Independent Advice and Advocacy Support:

You can get free support, at any time, from your local independent complaints advocacy service. The details are as follows:

Redbridge and Waltham Forest:

This service is provided by Voiceability, an Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. You can contact them by:

Telephone: 0300 303 1660

Email: helpline@voiceability.org

Voiceability can help write letters and present your case, if needed.

Barking & Dagenham, and Tower Hamlets

This service is provided by POhWER, an Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. You can contact them by:

Telephone: 0300 456 2370

Email: NHSComplaints@pohwer.net

Text: Send ‘pohwer’ with your name and number to 81025

POhWER can assist in writing letters and helping you present your case.

Hackney

This service is provided by the Hackney Advocacy Service. You can contact them by:

Telephone: 0300 7900 559

Email: Hackneyadvocacy@rethink.org

There is also an option for online referrals.

Havering

This service is provided by The Havering Integrated Advocacy Service. You can contact them by:

Telephone: 020 7510 1081 / 01708 5606600

Email: Havering.advocacy@mithn.org.uk

They can assist with writing letters and presenting your case, if necessary.

Newham

This service is provided by Healthwatch Newham NHS Complaints Advocacy Service. You can contact them by:

Telephone: 020 3828 8245

Email: advocacy@healthwatchnewham.co.uk

Time Frame For Complaints

The time constraint on bringing a complaint is 12 months form the occurrence giving rise to the complaint, or 12 months from the time you become aware of the matter about which you wish to complain.

The complaints manager, Anish Amin will respond to all complaints within three business days.

We will aim to investigate and provide you with the findings as soon as we can and will provide regular updates regarding the investigation of your complaint.

Investigating Complaints

Hampton Medical Centre will investigate all complaints effectively and in conjunction with extant legislation and guidance.

Confidentiality

Hampton Medical Centre will ensure that all complaints are investigated with the utmost confidentiality and that any documents are held separately from the patient’s healthcare record.

Third Party Complaints

Hampton Medical Centre allow a third party to make a complaint on behalf of a patient. The patient must provide consent for them todo so. A third party patient complaint form is available from reception.

Final Response

Hampton Medical Centre will issue a final formal response to all complainants which will provide full details and the outcome of the complaint. Further information is detailed in our organisation policy.

Further Action

If you’re dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint from either NHS England of this organisation then you can escalate your complaint to:

Parliamentary Health Service
Ombudsman (PHSO)
Milbank Tower
Milbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0345 015 4033
www.ombudsman.org.uk

Advocacy Support

POhWER Support Centre can be contacted via 0300 456 2370
SeAp Advocacy gives advocacy support on 0330440 9000
Age UK on 0800 055 6112
Local Council can give advice on local advocacy services

GDPR

Important information about our privacy policy

Hampton Medical Centre fully supports the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that will be enforced as of 25th May 2018.

We take our responsibility to protect your personal data extremely seriously and are updating our policies to reflect the new GDPR regulations.

You can find further information below.

Processors of personal data

In order to deliver the best possible service, the practice contracts Processors to process personal data, including patient data on our behalf.

When we use a Processor to process personal data we will always have an appropriate legal agreement in place to ensure that they keep the data secure, that they do not use or share information other than in accordance with our instructions and that they are operating appropriately.

Examples of functions that may be carried out by a Processor include:

Companies that provide IT services & support, including our core clinical systems; systems which manage patient facing services (such as our website and service accessible through the same); data hosting service providers; systems which facilitate appointment bookings or electronic prescription services and document management services.
Delivery services (for example if we were to arrange for delivery of any medicines to you).
Payment providers (if for example you were paying for a prescription or a service such as travel vaccinations).

Thank you for taking the time to review these changes and we look forward to continuing our work with our patients.

Our Privacy Commandments

Design for privacy and be accountable
Protect communications and sensitive data
Only collect necessary data
Obtain and manage permissions
Be open about data collection and use
Know your data and manage it diligently
Don’t share data without proper controls
Enable access to data, erasure and portability
Protect against unauthorised use
Acquire parental controls

Our Primary Care Network

Patient Confidentiality

Privacy Notice – Template Transparency Statement

How the NHS and care services use your information

Hampton Medical Centre is one of many organisations working in the health and care system to improve health care for patients.

Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Surgery for a consultation, Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:

improving the quality and standards of care provided
research into the development of new treatments
preventing illness and diseases
monitoring safety
planning services

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.

Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.

To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page you will:

See what is meant by confidential patient information
Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
Understand more about who uses the data
Find out how your data is protected
Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
See the situations where the opt-out will not apply

You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/ (which covers health and care research); and

https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made)

You can select your opt-out by going here: https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/

You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

Health and care organisations have until 2020 to put systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care. Our organisation is currently’ compliant with the national data opt-out policy.

Translation Service

Zero Tolerance

The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff or one of the doctors or nursing team is treated in an abusive or violent way.

The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff.

This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place.

All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, verbal or physical, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

Unacceptable Behaviour

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

Violence (towards members of staff and/or other patients)
Excessive noise e.g., recurrent loud or intrusive conversation or shouting
Threatening or abusive language involving swearing or offensive remarks
Derogatory remarks regarding protected characteristics (e.g., racist, sexist, or homophobic behaviour)
Making inflammatory statements e.g. “You are incompetent and should be sacked”
Derogatory, abusive, or insulting comments made about staff online or in the media
Harassing, abusing, or threatening staff on their personal social networks
Malicious allegations relating to members of staff, other patients, or visitors
Offensive sexual gestures or behaviours
Abusing alcohol or drugs on practice premises
Drug dealing on practice premises
Willful damage to practice property or threats to damage practice property
Threats, threatening behaviour or intimidation
Theft
Abuse of practice processes/policy

We ask you to treat our GPs and our staff courteously at all times. If such behaviour is witnessed, then patients will receive a formal warning asking them to reflect on their approach towards staff and patients, and the opportunity to alter their behaviour going forward. If this does not occur then we may be forced to consider other options available to the Practice.

Removal From the Practice List

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. This may include isolated or persistent behaviour, such as listed above.

When a relationship has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the Practice, that they should find a new GP surgery. In these circumstances, the Patient will receive a letter outlining the situation and advising them they are to be removed from the Practice list.

An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence (e.g. when the Police are involved) where patients will be referred to the Special Allocation Scheme.

Removing Other Members of a Household

In rare cases, it may be necessary to terminate our responsibility to other members of the family or the entire household following the removal of an individual.

Where there may be a possibility that this person may attend surgery for the care of another, or that a visit is required to a residence where they may be present, this may make it too difficult for the Practice to continue to look after other patients. If by keeping the family or household registered with the Practice this may put staff at risk of further violence or threatening behaviour, then we will be forced to request the deduction of other patients because of their actions.

If this decision is made, then all affected parties will be informed and the reasoning why this difficult choice has had to be made.