Confidentiality

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the practice team.

RECTORY MEADOW SURGERY

NHS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PUBLICATION

Welcome to the RECTORY MEADOW SURGERY General Practitioner’s Scheme.  This is a guide to the General Practitioners who practice together within the partnership publication scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Introduction

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Drs Sapsford and Partners; it is a description of the information about our General Practitioners and our Practice, which we make publicly available.  It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

How Much Will it Cost?

Whilst the publication is free of charge there may be a cost to producing copies of the Surgery’s policies and procedures, upon request.  These costs are stated later in this publication.

How is the Information Made Available?

The information within each Class is made available on the Surgery website:

www.rectorymeadowsurgery.co.uk or in hard copy, upon personal application from Nicola Husbands, Practice Manager.

Your Rights to Information

In addition to accessing the information identified in the publication scheme, you are entitled to request information about Rectory Meadow Surgery under the NHS Openness Code 1995.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how the decisions are made.

  Since January 1^st 2005 General Practices are required to respond to requests about information that it holds, and is recorded in any format and it will create a right of access to that information.  These rights are subject to some exemptions, which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact the Practice Manager, at the Surgery, to be guided as to how you may do this.

The Practice will continue to protect the personal data entrusted to us by disclosing only information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Feedback

The Practice will comply with the Freedom of Information Act and sees it as an opportunity to enhance public trust and confidence in the Practice.

If you have any comments about the operation of the Publication Scheme, or how we have dealt with your request for information from the Scheme, please write to: -

Nicola Husbands

Practice Manager

Rectory Meadow Surgery

School Lane

Amersham

Bucks

HP7 0HG

CLASSES OF INFORMATION

All information at Rectory Meadow Surgery is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS guidelines.  Our commitment to publish information excludes any information, which can legitimately be withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code of Freedom of Information Act 2000.  Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are e.g. the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998.  This applies to all Classes within the Publication Scheme.  The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following broad categories:

1.                  Who We Are

The NHS is a very large part of the public sector.  A full list of local General Practices can be found on NHS Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust web site or by telephoning 01494 552200.

RECTORY MEADOW SURGERY provides general medical services for the geographical area of Amersham and surrounding villages.  A detailed map of the Practice boundary is contained in the Patients booklet available from Reception.

The Practice address is:  Rectory Meadow Surgery, School Lane, Amersham,

Buckinghamshire  HP7 0HG Tel:  01494 727 711, Fax: 01494 431790.

The following Doctors work in the Practice:

Partners:

-                      Dr Andrew Sapsford (Full-time)

-                      Dr Vivien Carter (Part-Time)

-                      Dr Muir Ferguson (Full-time)

-                      Dr Stephane Watteeux (Full-time)

Salaried Doctors:

-                      Dr Christine Chan (Part-time)

The Practice participates in the training of doctors pursuing a career in General Practice.  These doctors are fully qualified and may have several years’ experience in hospital medicine.  Whilst they are with us we like them to participate fully in the medical care offered by the Practice.  We value our training status and the contribution that these doctors make to the Practice.

The Practice Team:

The Practice Manager is Nicola Husbands.  She is happy to help you with any business and administrative issues or problems in the Practice, or any other non-medical aspect of your health care.

We have a valued complement of nursing and administrative staff employed by the Practice.  We also have an attached team of community staff: Health Visitors and Midwives who may be contacted through the Surgery.

Some information will be withheld, including personal, confidential information about individuals which is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.

2.         Our Services

In addition to routine and emergency services, we offer the following range of services under contract to the NHS:

-                      Childhood developmental checks and immunizations

-                      Disease Management services including asthma, COPD, diabetes, and coronary heart disease

-                      Travel and other immunizations

-                      Cervical cytology

-                      Maternity Medical Services

-                      Contraceptive Services

-                      Phlebotomy

-                      Insulin Initiation

-                      Smoking Cessation

-                      Wound Care

-                      Minor Surgery

-                      Weight Management

-                      Anticoagulant Service

-                      Near Patient Testing

-                      Suture Removal

We also offer the availability of non-NHS physiotherapy and chiropody.

3.       Surgery Opening Times

Our Surgery services are available from 8.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on weekdays.  We also offer “Extended Hours” surgeries on Monday evenings. We offer ten-minute appointments with our doctors throughout.

When the Surgery is closed ‘Out of Hours Care’ for urgent medical services is provided by an ‘Out of Hours’ service (Bucks Urgent Care) arranged by NHS Buckinghamshire.

4.       Financial and Funding Information

Rectory Meadow Surgery receives money from NHS Buckinghamshire according to its contract for national General Medical Services in exchange for services provided for patients.

The total income received from the NHS before expenses was £788,132.49: for the year ending 31.03.10.

The sum spent on drugs prescribed by Rectory Meadow Surgery in the year 2009/2010 was £1,143.189.00.

There may be circumstances where material cannot be released because it is confidential or commercial information or the appropriate officer designated for these purposes, under the Act, has taken the view that it may be prejudicial to the conduct of the Practice’s affairs.

5.      Regular Publications for the Public

The Practice has an up-to-date booklet available in Reception.  This booklet provides information about the Doctors and staff who work at the Surgery and the services we offer.

Other information is available on the Practice notice boards and display tables in the waiting area.

6.       Complaints

If you have a complaint or concerns about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this Practice, please let us know.  We operate a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system.  Our complaints system meets national criteria.

A copy of our Practice Complaints Procedure is available from Mrs Nicola Husbands, Practice Manager, at the Surgery.

7.      Our Policies and Procedures

General policies and procedures in use within the Practice include, but are not restricted to:

-                      Internal instructions to staff and policies relating to the delivery of services

-                      Clinical protocols

-                      Patient registration policies

-                      Information Governance and Data Protection

-                      Prescribing

-                      Health & Safety

-                      Complaints

-                      Infection Control

-                      Staff Handbook

All policies and procedures are available for viewing, upon request in writing, to Mrs Nicola Husbands, Practice Manager at the Surgery.

This Publication Scheme

Any requests regarding our information management policies generally in the Practice should be directed to Mrs Nicola Husbands, Practice Manager, at the Surgery.

We may ask the person for the request or question the reasonableness but will work positively with the person requesting the information to help clarify what they require so that the Practice can best meet the request.

In some cases there will be charges made to cover the costs of copying, printing, stamped addressed envelopes and the administrative costs involved in so doing.

The current rate of photocopying and/or printing is charged at 30 pence/per sheet and the administrative charge stands at £10.00.  The charges will be reviewed regularly.  The publication is available, free of charge, on the Practice web site:

www.rectorymeadowsurgery.co.uk , although any charges for the Internet service provider and personal printing costs would have to be met by the individual.

Requests for multiple printouts, or for archived copies of documents which are no longer accessible or available on the web, may attract a charge for the retrieval, photocopy, postage etc.  We will inform you of any cost charges, in advance.  We will not provide printouts of other organisations’ web sites.

The Practice will record all Freedom of Information requests and our responses and we will monitor our performance in handling requests and complaints.

Useful Resources

Web sites:

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

This is the web site of the Information Commissioner

www.lec.gov.uk

This is the web site of the Lord Chancellor’s Department

Suggestions & Complaints

We always try to provide the best services possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. The following information explains our in-house complaints procedure, drawn up to respond to patient grievances. Our practice procedure is not able to deal with questions of legal liability or compensation. We hope you will use it to allow us to look into and, if necessary, correct any problems that you have identified, or mistakes that have been made. If you use this procedure it will not affect your right to complain to the Health Services Authority. Please note that we have to respect our duty of confidentiality to patients and a patient's consent will be necessary if a complaint is not made by the patient in person. If you wish to make a complaint, please telephone or write to the practice manager. Full details will be taken and a decision on how best to undertake the investigation with your agreement.

We believe it is important to deal with complaints swiftly. Occasionally it may take longer than expected but we will keep you informed throughout. We will try to address your concern, provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed

Our Responsibility To You

We are committed to giving you the best possible service.

• Names: People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how to contact them. The surgery should be well signposted and the doctors' names are indicated on their surgery doors.
• Waiting Time: We will endeavour to explain any delay of greater than 30 minutes, when you arrive for your appointment.
• Access: With our system of appointments you should always have access to one of the doctors should you phone for an appointment soon after the surgery opens. In the case of urgency, we will ensure that you will always be seen on the day you telephone.
• Telephone: We will try to answer the phone promptly and to ensure that there are sufficient staff available to do this. You should be able to speak to a doctor by telephone.
• Test Results: If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, we will inform you of the results at your next appointment. If no further appointment needs to be arranged, we will advise you when and how to obtain the results.
• Respect: Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs.
• Information: We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive that information which directly affects your health and the care being offered.
• ealth Promotion: The practice will offer patients advice and information on: steps that can be taken to promote good health and avoid illness; self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in case of minor ailments.
• Health Records: You have the right to see your health records, subject to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.

Your Responsibility To Us

Help us to help you.

• Please let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number.
• Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us as soon as possible if you cannot. Otherwise, other patients may have to wait longer. We need help too.
• Please ask for home visits by the doctor only when the person is too ill to visit the surgery.
• Please keep your phone call brief and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters.
• Test results take time to reach us, so please do not ring before you have been asked to do so. Enquiries about tests ordered by the hospital should be directed to the hospital, not the practice.
• We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect.
• Please read this website or our practice booklet. This will help you get the best out of the services we offer. It is important that you understand the information given to you.
• Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Remember, you are responsible for your own health and the health of your children. We will give you our professional help and advice. Please act upon it.

Violence Statement

A zero tolerance policy towards violent, threatening and abusive behaviour is now in place throughout the National Health Service. The staff at the surgery have a right to carry out their work in an environment free from such behaviour and accordingly we take this right seriously. If you do not respect this right we may choose to inform the police and make arrangements for your removal from our medical list.