Practice Policies

Confidentiality & Medical Records

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 Data Protection Act 1998 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.

Zero Tolerance Policy

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

Video/Audio recording

Sometimes we may wish to film or record consultations between doctors and patients. This will only be used for teaching purposes.

This will not take place without your consent. Examinations will never be recorded. The camera/recorder can be switched off at any time on request.

Social Media Code of Conduct for Patients

We aim to provide a safe and respectful environment for all patients and staff at Highparks Medical Practice – adhering to the following will help us achieve this:

• Portable Devices: The practice requires all users of portable devices to use them courteously and considerately, respecting fellow patients. Portable devices are not to be used during consultations unless agreed upon by clinicians.
• Confidentiality: Patients must not disclose patient-identifiable information about others unless they have the express consent of that patient.
• Prohibited Material: Patients must not post material that is inaccurate, fraudulent, harassing, obscene, defamatory, or unlawful. Such posts will be reported to the relevant authorities, and legal advice will be sought where necessary.
• Photography: Patients are not permitted to take photographs in the waiting room or areas where other patients are present, nor take photographs of staff without permission.
• Comments About Staff: Patients must not post comments on social media identifying staff members who work at the practice.
• Feedback and Reviews: Patients wishing to leave a review about Highparks Medical Practice are encouraged to use the NHS website. This allows the Practice Manager to respond appropriately.
• Defamatory Comments: Defamatory comments about the practice or its staff must not be shared on social media. Legal advice will be sought, and appropriate action will be taken against any patient posting defamatory content.
  • Definition of defamation: “Any intentionally false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person’s reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person.”

Ethnical Social Neworking

The GMC’s guidance, Doctors’ use of social media, states that social media sites should never be used to discuss individual patients or their care. If a GP is contacted by a patient via their private profile for medical advice, the patient will be directed to contact the practice instead.

Patient complaints on Social Media

In the modern age of the internet, some patients may choose to express their concerns regarding services on social media. However, our experience shows that such comments are often negative and can lead to further unhelpful and individualised remarks rather than constructive feedback.

If offensive social media posts about our staff or practice are brought to our attention, we may:

• Contact the patient(s) involved and invite them to a face-to-face discussion to address their concerns.
• Write to/ email the patient where deemed necessary to advise of correct channels to highlight such concerns
• Depending on the nature of the content, consider the post as evidence of a breakdown in the doctor-patient relationship. This could result in the patient being removed from our practice list.

Feedback and complaints

We welcome all feedback – both positive and negative – as it allows us to review our services and make necessary improvements. For concerns, we encourage patients to follow our official complaints procedure, which ensures that all issues are addressed professionally and promptly