Equality and Diversity Policy

Our policy is designed to ensure and promote equality and inclusion, supporting the ethos and requirements of the Equality Act 2010 for all visitors of our practice.

We are committed to:

ensuring that all visitors and staff are treated with dignity and respect
promoting equality of opportunity between everyone
not tolerating any discrimination or perceived discrimination against, or harassment of, any visitor or staff for reason of gender identity, Trans status, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, ableism, sexual orientation, religion or age.
providing the same treatment and services (including the ability to register with the practice) to any visitor irrespective of gender identity, Trans status, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, ableism, sexual orientation, religion or age.

This policy applies to staff at Forge Close Surgery, the general public, including all patients and their families, visitors and contractors.

Procedure

Discrimination by the Practice or Visitors / patients against you.

If you feel discriminated against:

You should bring the matter to the attention of our Practice Manager
Our Practice Manager will investigate the matter thoroughly and confidentially
Our Practice Manager will establish the facts and decide whether discrimination has taken place and advise you of the outcome of the investigation within 45 working days.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you should raise a formal complaint through our Complaints Procedure

Discrimination against our Practice staff.

The Practice will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment of our staff by any visitor. Any visitor who expresses any form of discrimination against or harassment of any member of our staff will be required to leave the practice premises immediately. If the visitor is a patient they may also be removed from the practice list if any such behaviour occurs at the discretion of the Practice Management.

Did Not Attend (DNA) Policy

We strive to offer as many face to face and telephone appointments to our patients.

In order to do this we need to have strict guidelines in place to fully utilise every available appointment.

In light of this we have introduce this policy; Did Not Attend (DNA) for our patients.

What can I do to cancel my appointments?

Just let us know.

We would like at least 24 hours’ notice, but we know this is not always possible, so, try and let us know at least 1 hour of your scheduled appointment time.

Letting us know as soon as possible, allows us to rebook another patient into that time slot.

You can cancel your appointment by:

Calling us on 020 8462 1601
Reply to the text reminder – follow instructions within that text reminder
Use the NHS app or Patient Access app (Note: MYCHART is not a General Practice app, so you will not see appointment reminders for Forge Close surgery via this app)
Attend the practice in person to cancel.

What does “Did Not Attend” mean?

DNA means Did Not Attend.

It is when a patient fails to attend their appointment without a valid reason, which results in a waste of an appointment.

This appointment could have been given to another patient who is in urgent need of care.

We need to cut down on the amount of DNA appointments that occur.

What will happened if I forget to cancel, or miss an appointment?

If you miss ONE appointment:

We will send you a text (or a letter to those without a mobile number) to remind you that you missed an appointment, and direct you to review this policy, so you are aware of the next steps if you fail to turn up to any other appointments within a 12 month rolling period.

If you miss TWO appointments within a rolling 12-month period:

You will be sent a first warning letter from the practice, asking you to explain why you did not attend, and advising you that another missed appointment could result in you being removed from the practice list.

If the reason is deemed valid, this DNA notification will be updated to accept your reason but your first DNA will remain.

If you miss THREE appointments or more within a rolling 12-month period:

You will be sent a second warning letter.

A telephone appointment will be made for you to speak to the practice manager within 4 weeks of your third DNA, to explain why you did not attend, and what is preventing you from cancelling an appointment, to see if we can help you in anyway.

If the reason is valid – we will waive this third DNA, but the first two DNAs will remain.

If no valid reason is given – you will be removed from the practice list.

If you cancel the telephone appointment with the practice manager and do not reschedule it. You will be removed from the practice list.

If you do not answer the call from the practice manager. You will be removed from the practice list, and you will have to find a new GP practice to register at.

You will be informed of the decision in writing.

Once a removal has been actioned, you have 30 days to find a new GP practice to accept you onto their register.

You will not be able to re-register with us again for 12 months, from the date the practice manager decides to remove you.

FAQs

1) I failed to attend my pre-booked face to face appointment, but the doctor called me instead, why is this a ‘Did Not Attend’?

Face to Face appointments are highly sought after and these slots types need to be fully utilised in the way they are set up.

We have different appointment types available for face to face and telephone appointments.

Some problems can be dealt with over the phone, so face to face are kept for those that either request a face to face or need an examination.

Failure to attend a Face-to-Face appointment means another patient that needed a face to face was delayed in being seen, so it would be deemed as a ‘Did Not Attend’

2) I did not bring my child to the appointment, why have I received the ‘Did Not Attend’ message?

A child that fails to attend appointment is recorded as ‘Was not brought in’

A child cannot attend an appointment alone, so we record the DNA as a ‘Was not brought in’

The same DNA policy above applies to you and your child.

3) I did DNA an appointment, but I urgently need to be seen still

You will be offered the next available appointment, which may not be on the same day, it may be more than 2-weeks away. You can attend a local pharmacy, or attend a local walk-in service, call 111, or attend urgent care centre, or attend A&E or call 999 in life threatening situations.

4) I did not receive a text reminder

A patient needs to take ownership to remember when their appointment is. They should not rely on text reminders, as technical failures do occur and this is out of our control and the surgery will not be held responsible for no reminders received.

Text reminders are set to remind a patient of their appointment 24 hours before their appointment.

Tips to remember your appointment

Write appointment down on a piece of paper, and put it somewhere to remember (if in person, a receptionist will ask, and if requested, write it down for you)
If you make a telephone appointment, you can ask the receptionist to text or email you at the same time as the phone call to state that an appointment has been made with date and time and with whom (this will not be automatically done or offered)
Add it to your phones calendar alert
View on the NHS app or Patient Access (appointments made at the surgery will not appear on MYCHART, this app is an hospital App and no direct link to General Practice)

Privacy Notice Update – Use of Ardens Manager

As part of our commitment to improving patient care and population health management, this GP practice uses Ardens Manager, a secure clinical analytics platform.

Ardens Manager allows us to securely analyse pseudonymised patient data from our clinical system (EMIS) to:

Identify areas for improving quality of care and outcomes
Monitor performance against national and local indicators (e.g Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF))
Support proactive care for at-risk patients
Fulfil our contractual and clinical governance responsibilities

What data is shared?

The data processed by Ardens Manager is pseudonymised. This means personal identifiers like your name or NHS number are removed and replaced with codes. The data no longer identifies you, but it can be re-identified by authorised staff within the practice if needed to support your care.
Pseudonymised data may be shared securely with other NHS organisations only for direct care, planning, quality improvement, and assurance purposes, and never for marketing or commercial use.

Who can access the data?

Access is limited to authorised staff within the practice and approved roles within our Primary Care Network (PCN) and Integrated Care Board (ICB) who are involved in planning and managing services.
We remain the data controller. Ardens (the data processor) acts on our behalf under a strict Data Processing Agreement and complies with UK GDPR and NHS Digital standards.

Legal basis for processing

We process this data under UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Article 6(1)(e), the performance of task carried out in public interest. For health data, the condition is Article 9(2)(h), the provision of health and social care.

Your rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have the right to object to your data being processed in this way, that is, used in a pseudonymised form for service planning, performance monitoring, and care improvement via Ardens Manager platform.

If you wish to object, please contact the Practice Manager. We will carefully consider your request and assess whether we can reasonably stop processing your data without affecting our ability to deliver safe, effective care or meet our legal obligations.

Please note that:

The data used by Ardens Manager is pseudonymised and does not directly identify you.
The processing supports important functions such as identifying gaps in care, reviewing service quality and managing local health needs.
In some cases, we may need to continue using your data where we have a compelling legal or clinical grounds to do so in the public interest.

This is different from the NHS National Data Opt-Out which allows you to stop your identifiable information being used for research and planning outside of your direct care. To manage your national preferences, visit www.nhs.uk/your –nhs –data –matters

Find out more

For more information on how Ardens Manager processes data, visit: https://www.ardens.org.uk/privacy
For our full Privacy Notice, please visit: Data and Privacy – Forge Close Surgery or ask at reception.

Patient’s Travelling Abroad Consulting and Prescribing Policy

By law, the NHS ceases to have responsibility for the medical care of patients when they leave the UK, this means we cannot consult with you about any new or pre-existing medical concerns or health problems once you leave the UK for any amount of time. You would be advised to contact a health provider in the country that you are in. In addition, GPs are not required by their terms of service to provide prescriptions for the treatment of a condition that is not present and may arise while the patient is abroad.

Travelling out of the country for less than 3 months

For patients who inform us they will be out of the country for less than 3 months, we will provide sufficient medicines for an existing condition (e.g. asthma, diabetes…) for the period while the patient is away where it is safe to do so. Drugs that require frequent monitoring may not be prescribed where there are safety concerns.1 months’ supply only will be issued for drugs normally available over the counter, such as paracetamol.

Travelling out of the country for more than 3 months

Patients who inform us they will be leaving the country for more than 3 months will be prescribed sufficient medication to enable them to make alternative arrangements at their destination (up to 3 months’ supply where safe to do so).

They will also be removed from our patient list. We will be pleased to re-register patients on their return to residence in the UK and can reassure patient that their electronic notes are kept on file for reference on their return.

We sometimes receive requests from patients asking us to prescribe antibiotics to take abroad, with the intention of only using the antibiotic if the patient develops an infection.

We are unable to fulfil these requests as a matter of patient safety. It is not safe to prescribe in anticipation of a potential infection you might develop abroad, as the best treatment will need to be tailored to the specific clinical presentation.

Prescribing antibiotics in advance could lead to under treating an infection, or using the wrong antibiotic, which could be dangerous.

If you are in the unfortunate situation of requiring medical attention while you are outside of the UK, you will need to consult with a local medical professional for appropriate treatment.

Call Recording Policy

Date of policy commencement: 7th February 2024

Review date: November 2026

ALL CALLS (INBOUND and OUTBOUND) at Forge Close Surgery are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

Introduction

This policy outlines Forge Close Surgery (FCS) call recording process. The purpose of call recording is to provide a record of incoming and outgoing calls which can:

Identify practice staff training needs
Protect practice staff from nuisance or abusive calls
Establish facts relating to incoming/outgoing calls made (e.g. complaints/disciplinary issues)
Identify any issues in practice processes with a view to improving them

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that call recording is managed in line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) & Data Retention requirements. This will generally involve the recording of telephone conversations which is subject to the Telecommunications Act 1984.

FCS will make every reasonable effort to advise callers that their call may be recorded and for what purpose the recording may be used. This will normally be via a pre-recorded message within the telephone system. The voice file will be stored within the telephone system to which the same rules of confidentiality will apply.

Where a patient requests to listen to a recording then this should be allowed within the general provisional of data subject access (SAR) under General Data Protection Regulations.

Scope

This policy applies to all practice staff including any contracted or temporary workers. All calls via the telephone systems used in the practice will be recorded, including:

All external incoming calls
All external outgoing calls made by practice staff
All internal incoming and outgoing calls made by the practice staff
Call transfers

Recording will automatically stop when the practice staff member terminates the call.

Callers will be advised that all calls both incoming and outgoing are recorded for quality/training purposes – this will be in the form of an automated voice message when patients call 020 8462 1601 or another other number that is linked to our practice, such as the by-pass line and direct-lines to staff.

A patient (and staff) can request the call not to be recorded at any time during a live call.

Note:

In a video call only the audio part of the call is recorded.
Outbound calls to a patient, these will be automatically recorded, but we do not need to notify the patient that the call will be recorded, as this message is mentioned on the pre-recorded message when a patient calls the practice, as well in the policy on our website which is viewable to the public.

Playback / Monitoring of Recorded Calls

Monitoring of the call recordings will be undertaken by allocated Supervisors on the phone software. Any playback of recordings will take place in a private setting.

All recordings will be stored securely for 6 months and access to these should be controlled and managed by the Practice Manager and by the Supervisors, who has been appointed by the Practice Manager. Access to the recordings will be by request to the Practice Manager or in their absence to the Reception Manager.

Subject Access Requests (SAR)

Subject Access Requests can be made in writing by a patient to have access to their telephone calls with FCS, if available, it should be noted that recordings are only kept for 6 months. We can invite you in to listen to the recording, or provide you with a written transcript of the call. We may be able to issue you a copy of the recording which can be downloaded as a MP3 format only and sent via email, but both parties who are involved within the phone call needs to agree to this release.

Confidentiality

The General Data Protection Regulations allows access to information that is held about them and their personal data. This includes recorded telephone calls. Recordings should be stored in such a way that will enable easy access to the information relating to one or more individuals.

Requests for copies of telephone conversations can be made under the GDPR as a “Subject Access Request (SAR)”. This must be done in writing and after assessing whether the information can be released, the requestor can be invited to the practice premises to hear the recording.

If there is a request from an external body relating to the detection or prevention of a crime (e.g. police), then requests for information should be directed to the Practice Manager responsible for GDPR to carry out the request for the recording.

Where are the recordings stored?

Reference: 04/06/2021

Calls are routed through X-On’s network, recorded and stored by X-ON. The recordings are kept on their servers in a secure environment that cannot be accessed externally except by authenticated users.

X-On satisfy the security requirements for ISO 27001 Security Standards certification, and ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standards certification. X-on are a Crown Commercial Service Supplier and have been assessed against the NHS Information Governance Toolkit.

More information can be found here

Accessing someone else’s information

As a parent, family member or carer, you may be able to access services for someone else. We call this having proxy access. We can set this up for you if you are both registered with us.

To requests proxy access:

collect a proxy access form from reception from 10am to 6pm

Linked profiles in your NHS account

Once proxy access is set up, you can access the other person’s profile in your NHS account, using the NHS App or website.

The NHS website has information about using linked profiles to access services for someone else.

Zero Tolerance

The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We 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. We ask you to treat your doctors and their staff courteously and act reasonably.

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.

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. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Surgery, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.

Your Rights and Responsibilities

Patient’s Rights

We are committed to giving you the best possible service. This will be achieved by working together. Help us to help you. You have a right to, and the practice will try to ensure that:

You will be treated with courtesy and respect
You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention that you receive
All aspects of your visit will be dealt with in privacy and confidence
You will be seen by a doctor of your choice subject to availability
In an emergency, out of normal opening hours, if you telephone the practice you will be given the number to receive assistance, which will require no more than one further call
You can bring someone with you, however you may be asked to be seen on your own during the consultation
Repeat prescriptions will normally be available for collection within two working days of your request
Information about our services on offer will be made available to you by way of posters, notice boards and newsletters
You have the right to see your medical records or have a copy subject to certain laws.

Patient’s Responsibilities

With these rights come responsibilities and for patients we would respectfully request that you:

Treat practice staff and doctors with the same consideration and courtesy that you would like yourself. Remember that they are trying to help you
Please ensure that you order your repeat medication in plenty of time allowing 48 working hours.
Please ensure that you have a basic first aid kit at home and initiate minor illness and self-care for you and your family.
Please attend any specialist appointments that have been arranged for you or cancel them if your condition has resolved or you no longer wish to attend
Please follow up any test or investigations done for you with the person who has requested the investigation
Attend appointments on time and check in with Reception
Patients who are more than 20 minutes late for their appointment may not be seen.
If you are unable to make your appointment or no longer need it, please give the practice adequate notice that you wish to cancel. Appointments are heavily in demand and missed appointments waste time and delay more urgent patients receiving the treatment they need
An appointment is for one person only. Where another family member needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made
Patients should make every effort to be present at the surgery to ensure the best use of nursing and medical time. Home visits should be medically justifiable and not requested for social convenience
Please inform us when you move home, change your name or telephone number, so that we can keep our records correct and up to date
Read the practice leaflets and other information that we give you. They are there to help you use our services. If you do not understand their content please tell us
Let us have your views. Your ideas and suggestions, whether complimentary or critical, are important in helping us to provide a first class, safe, friendly service in pleasant surroundings.

NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. For more information see these websites:

Summary Care Records

About your Summary Care Record

Your Summary Care Record contains important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have previously experienced.

Allowing authorised healthcare staff to have access to this information will improve decision making by doctors and other healthcare professionals and has prevented mistakes being made when patients are being cared for in an emergency or when their GP practice is closed.

Your Summary Care Record also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS Number to help identify you correctly.

You may want to add other details about your care to your Summary Care Record. This will only happen if both you and your GP agree to do this. You should discuss your wishes with your GP practice.

Healthcare staff will have access to this information, so that they can provide safer care, whenever or wherever you need it, anywhere in England.

FAQs

Who can see my Summary Care Record?

Healthcare staff who have access to your Summary Care Record:

• need to be directly involved in caring for you
• need to have an NHS Smartcard with a chip and passcode
• will only see the information they need to do their job and
• will have their details recorded every time they look at your record

Healthcare staff will ask for your permission every time they need to look at your Summary Care Record. If they cannot ask you (for example if you are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate), healthcare staff may look at your record without asking you, because they consider that this is in your best interest.

If they have to do this, this decision will be recorded and checked to ensure that the access was appropriate.

What are my choices?

You can choose to have a Summary Care Record or you can choose to opt out.

If you choose to have a Summary Care Record and are registered with a GP practice, you do not need to do anything as a Summary Care Record is created for you.

If you choose to opt out of having a Summary Care Record and do not want a SCR, you need to let your GP practice know by filling in and returning an opt-out form which can be optained from your GP practice.

If you are unsure if you have already opted out, you should talk to the staff at your GP practice.

You can change your mind at any time by simply informing your GP and they can create a Summary Care Record for you.

Children and the Summary Care Record

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16, you should make this information available to them and support the child to come to a decision as to whether to have a Summary Care Record or not.

If you believe that your child should opt-out of having a Summary Care Record, we strongly recommend that you discuss this with your child’s GP. This will allow your child’s GP to highlight the consequences of opting-out, prior to you finalising your decision.

Where can I get more information?

For more information about Summary Care Records you can:

• talk to the staff at your GP practice
• phone the Health and Social Care Information Centre on 0300 303 5678
• Read the Summary Care Record patient information

Suggestions, Comments and Complaints

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our surgery.

In the majority of cases the best way to resolve your concerns as quickly as possible is with reception or directly with the service or organisation that you are complaining about.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

Forge Close Surgery follows 6 principles when dealing with complaints:

Getting it right
Being open and accountable
Putting things right
Being customer focused
Acting fairly & proportionately
Seeking continuous improvement

First please speak to reception who may be able to assist with your concern raised or you can contact the Practice Manager in writing by sending/handing in a letter to the surgery.

All written complaints will be dealt with within 6 weeks from date of receipt of the complaint.

You need to make your complaint within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem OR within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem relating to a specific incident.

The Practice Manager has overall responsibility for the complaints system though your complaint may be assigned to another member of the team to deal with.

We are continually striving to improve our service. Any helpful and any positive feedback / suggestions would be much appreciated.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Medical records are protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else we need to know that you have their permission to do so. A letter signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (e.g. due to illness) of providing this.

What we will do

We will send out a holding letter to your home address within three working days and offer to discuss with you the best way to investigate it, including the time scales for a reply. We try to reply to all complaints within 6 weeks, but sometimes it can take up to and over 6 months depending on the nature of the complaint and whether we need to involve our medical legal team. If we need to involve our medical legal team, we sometimes need to share your records that are relevant to the complaint, redacted, with them to help assist with the complaint response. Note: we only send acknowledgements and complaint responses via post to your home address on your records. If there is a delay in responding to your complaint, we will advise you as soon as possible.

We will aim to:

Find out what happened and what went wrong.
Invite you to discuss the problem with those involved, if you would like this
Apologise, where this is appropriate.
Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again.

If you feel that the surgery was unable to resolve your issues then you can get in contact with NHS South East London ICB and the contact details below.