Malpas Brook Health Centre

PATIENT RESPONSIBILITIES

To assist with the smooth running of our practice, patients are reminded that they have certain responsibilities. These include the need to keep to specified appointment times or to advise reception if they need to cancel or rearrange their appointment.

Staff and patients are entitled to be treated with respect regardless of their race or gender. It must be clearly understood that any violent or abusive behaviour towards other patients and/or staff will not be tolerated and will inevitably lead to the involvement of the police. Any patient who exhibits this type of behaviour can expect to have his/her registration terminated.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The practice computer is registered under the Data Protection Act and strict confidentiality is maintained. All staff are bound by strict rules of confidentiality.

THE PROTECTION AND USE OF INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

When we ask you for information this is to enable us to give you the best health care and treatment.

We then keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again, and some of this we will need to pass on to others concerned with your care.

There are times when we may use some of this information, in an anonymised form (ie no patient names), for other reasons.

These are, for example:

• To help us protect the health of the public


• The efficient running of the NHS, ie planning for the future


• Training staff


• Carrying out medical and other health research approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee

Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, for example to notify a birth or death.

We would also like to make you aware that:

• If you should want your relatives or carers to be kept up to date with progress of your treatment please discuss this with the doctor or nurse delivering your care.


• The NHS Central Register for England and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a general practitioner.


• Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential; anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.


• You have the right of access to your health records.

If at any time you would like to know more about how we use information about you please ask to speak to the practice manager.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PUBLICATION SCHEME

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the 'classes' of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

This scheme is available from reception.