Practice Policies & Patient Information
Bolton Care Record
The Bolton Care Record is a new confidential computer record that will allow health and social care professionals directly involved in your care to access the most up to date information about you. These records are currently held separately and aren’t available across different health and social care services when they are needed.
It does this by sharing appropriate information from your medical and care records between health and social care services in Bolton. This means your GP, a specialist at the hospital, a district nurse, or a social care professional will have access to the information they need.
Information is already shared by phone and paper records across health and social care organisations. The Bolton Care Record will enable your information to be shared more accurately and more efficiently with those professionals directly involved in your care. This should improve the care you receive.
What information will be shared?
- Your address and telephone number
- Diagnosis list – to make sure your health or social care professional has an accurate and complete record of your care.
- Medications – so everyone treating you can see what medicines you’ve currently been prescribed.
- Allergies – to make sure you aren’t prescribed or given any medicines you could have an adverse reaction to.
- Test results – to speed up your treatment and care.
- Referrals, clinic letters and discharge information – to make sure the people caring for you have all the information they need about other treatment you’re having elsewhere.
The benefits for patients:
- Joined up care is safer care
- More time spent on you and your care, instead of going over the same information over and over again
- More effective record sharing helps services work better together, potentially reducing hospital stays so you can get home sooner.
Your questions answered…
Can anybody see my records?
No. Only health and care professionals directly involved in your care will see your Bolton Care Record and only with your consent. Your details won’t be made public or passed on to third parties not directly involved in your care.
How do I know my record is safe and secure?
By law, everyone working for the NHS and social care must respect your privacy and keep your information safe.
Can I access my Bolton Care Record?
Yes. Under the 1988 Data Protection Act you can request all information that an organisation holds about you.
Do I have to share my records?
You can choose not to have a Bolton Care Record, but sharing your medical and social care information through a Bolton Care Record will make it easier to provide the best care and support for you.
How do I opt out?
Your information will only be viewed with your consent. You can say no to any health or care professional who asks permission to view your information. You can also completely opt out and not have a Bolton Care Record. Contact your GP if you wish to opt out.
For more information, visit the Bolton Care Record website.
Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our Practice. However, we are aware things can go wrong.
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the Doctors or staff please contact the Practice manager at the main surgery by telephone or call in at the surgery to complete a complaint form.
The Practice will look into the points you have raised and when the investigations are complete we will contact you with a response.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome you have a right to approach the Parliamentary & Health service ombudsman.
Telephone 0345 0154033
Website www.ombudsman.org.uk
You may also approach the local Healthwatch.
Telephone 01204 372842
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.
GDPR Privacy Notice
GP Net Earnings 2022/23
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working at Garnet Fold Practice in the last financial year before tax and National Insurance was £67,601.
This is for 6 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.
Named Accountable GP
The named accountable GP is responsible for the overall care of the patient.
You should see no change in the day to day running of the practice or your care. Having a named GP does not mean you can only see this GP. As a group practice you can see the Doctor of your choice, except in an urgent situation when you should see which ever GP is available.
If you would like to know the name of your accountable GP, please ask as our reception desk or the GP when you are next at the surgery.
Online access to your Medical Records
The Practice has already been offering patients the opportunity to request prescriptions, book and cancel appointments online. We are now extending this service to view your medical records online using the same system.
By being able to see your record online may help you to manage your medical conditions. It also means that you can access your records from anywhere in the world, should you require medical treatment on holiday.
You will be given login details, so you will need to think of a password which is unique to you. This will ensure that only you are able to access your record – unless you choose to share your details with a family member or carer.
It will be your responsibility to keep your login details safe and secure. If you know or suspect your record has been accessed by someone that you have not agreed see it, then you should change your password immediately.
If you can’t do this for some reason, we recommend that you contact the practice so that we can remove online access until you are able to reset your password.
If you print out any information from your record, it is also your responsibility to keep this secure. If you are at all worried about keeping printed copies safe, we recommend that you do not make any copies at all.
Before you apply for online access to your record, there are some other things to consider. Although the chances of any of these things happening are very small, you will be asked that you have read and understood the following before you are given login details.
Forgotten History
There may be something you have forgotten about in your record that you might find upsetting.
Abnormal results or bad news
If we have given you access to test results or letters, you may see something that you find upsetting to you. This may occur before you have spoke to your doctor or while the surgery is closed and you can not contact us.
Choosing to share your information
Its up to you whether or not you share your information with others – perhaps family members or carers. Its your choice, but also your responsibility to keep the information safe and secure.
Coercion
If you think you may be pressured into revealing details from your patient record to someone else against your will, it is best that you do no register for access at this time.
Misunderstood information
Your medical record is designed to be used by clinical professionals to ensure that you receive the best possible care. Some of the information within your medical record may be highly technical, written by specialists and not easily understood. If you require further clarification, please contact the surgery for clearer explanation.
Information about someone else
If you spot something in the record that is not about you or notice any other errors, please log out of the system immediately and contact the practice as soon as possible.
Practice Charter
What you can expect from the practice:
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- You will be treated with respect by all Doctors, Nurses and staff.
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- All personal and medical information will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
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- We aim to treat your problems effectively and as quickly as possible. We would wish to involve you in your choice of treatments and provide a full explanation of these.
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- We aim to offer access to with a GP within 48-hours, however if you wish to see a particular doctor, waiting times may be longer.
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- You are allowed to see your medical records, but this is subject to limitations within the law.
What the practice expects from you:
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- Please treat the Doctors, Nurses, staff and other patients with respect and politeness.
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- Please cancel any appointments that you cannot attend.
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- Please be punctual and arrive in time for your appointment.
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- Remember that appointments are 10-minutes and that other patients are waiting. If you have a lot of problems either book a longer appointment or a further appointment.
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- Please do not discuss other patients during your appointment.
Summary Care Record
There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Why do I need a Summary Care Record?
Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.
This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.
Who can see it?
Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.
How do I know if I have one?
Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our interactive map or by asking your GP
Do I have to have one?
No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.
More Information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website
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.