Practice Policies

The Vale Medical Group is committed to preserve and enhance its good reputation for being an innovative practice with a long tradition of caring. We will:

• Treat you with respect and courtesy at all times
• Provide you with advice and treatment in a timely manner
• Help you make decisions about your health by treating you as an equal
• Discuss what treatment is available and refer you on to other experts where necessary
• Act as your advocate and guide through health and social services
• Ensure a safe and effective service and environment for both staff and patients
• Maintain confidentiality in what we discuss and the records we keep on your behalf
• Keep up to date with developments in health care by continuing to learn
• Through the process of continuous monitoring and auditing, continue to improve our healthcare services

Freedom of Information

Please click here to access our Freedom of Information policy leaflet.

For available information from the Practice under the Freedom of Information Act model Publication Scheme click here.

Violence 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.

GP Net Earnings

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised, and the required disclosure is shown below. However it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice, and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.

All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

31st March 2022 was £97,056 before tax and national insurance. This is for 0 full time GPs, 7 part time GPs and 1 locum GP who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Access to your medical information

You have a right of access to any medical information about you that is held at the practice (either written or on computer). If you wish to see your records this must be requested in writing to the practice manager who will contact you to arrange an appointment.

Click here to download our leaflet on accessing your medical information

Summary Care Records

The Summary Care Record is a copy of key information held in your GP record. It provides authorised healthcare staff with faster, secure access to essential information about you - when you need unplanned care or when your GP practice is closed. The availability of Summary Care Records will improve the safety and quality of your care. More information here>>

Patient Online Services

We offer online services for making appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions and viewing parts of your medical records. Click here to download the form.

Privacy Notice

Being transparent and providing accessible information to patients about how we will use your personal information is a key element of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

This notice reminds you of your rights in respect of the above legislation and how your GP Practice will use your information for lawful purposes in order to deliver your care and the effective management of the local NHS system.

ACR project for patients with diabetes (and/or other conditions)

The data is being processed for the purpose of delivery of a programme, sponsored by NHS Digital, to monitor urine for indications of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which is recommended to be undertaken annually for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease e.g., patients living with diabetes. The programme enables patients to test their kidney function from home. We will share your contact details with Healthy.io to enable them to contact you and send you a test kit. This will help identify patients at risk of kidney disease and help us agree any early interventions that can be put in place for the benefit of your care.

Healthy.io will only use your data for the purposes of delivering their service to you. If you do not wish to receive a home test kit from Healthy.io we will continue to manage your care within the Practice. Healthy.io are required to hold data we send them in line with retention periods outlined in the Records Management code of Practice for Health and Social Care. Further information about this is available at: https://bit.ly/3xpSq5q.

Confidentiality

The doctors and staff at the practice will ensure that all medical information about any patient is kept strictly confidential and is not given to anyone without the patient's consent. Please remember this if enquiring about a relative.

Written consent is usually required for medical reports to insurance companies or for legal reports.

Anonymised clinical data may sometimes be used for audit within the practice (to improve our standards of care) and it may sometimes be requested by the Primary Care Trust to monitor the performance of the practice. This clinical data will not be in a form that can identify any individual patient.

Safeguarding people

Everyone has the right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. However, abuse and neglect can occur anywhere. Click for further information

Chaperone Policy

In certain circumstances during a physical examination of an intimate nature, the Doctor may ask a Nurse or appropriately trained member of staff to be present.

The policy is designed to protect both parties and staff from abuse or allegations of abuse and to assist patients to make an informed choice about their examination and consultations.

• The Doctor should give you a clear explanation of what the examination will involve.
• Ensure you have adequate privacy to undress and dress.
• A Variety of staff can act as chaperones in the Practice. Where possible, it is strongly recommended that chaperones' should be clinical staff familiar with procedural aspects of personal examinations. Where a non-clinical staff member acts as a chaperone you need to agree and be at ease with this. The member of staff will only act as a chaperone if they have received training and are comfortable in the scope and extent of their role.
• You should be reassured that all practice staff understand their responsibility not to divulge confidential information.
• You can refuse a chaperone, and if you do this will be recorded in your medical records.