Practice Policies & Patient Information
Abusive Behaviour
The Practice does not under any circumstances tolerate violent or abusive behaviour. Should a patient become abusive or violent towards a Health Care Professional or member of staff within the Practice, the Practice reserves the right to immediately remove the patient from their list notifying the patient and Trust of their intention.
Access to Medical Records
Patients are entitled to apply for access to their total health record as it stands at the time the request is received.
Any request from a patient for access to health records must be made in writing or electronically to the Practice Manager.
Third parties only have the right to access information regarding a patient, providing valid consent (no more than 6 months old) from the patient is received.
ADHD Assessments and Medication Policy
As a practice, we are committed to supporting patients with neurodevelopmental diagnoses, both children and adults.
We are mindful that pressures on NHS services have increased in recent years, and that often patients seek private diagnosis and treatment as a result. This policy sets out the practice’s policy on acknowledging diagnosis and taking over treatment where requested.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect many aspects of a person’s life. However, diagnosis is complex and requires a specialist, usually a consultant psychiatrist to do this.
GPs are not able to make a diagnosis of ADHD and a referral is needed to an ADHD specialist. If an ADHD diagnosis is subsequently made by the specialist, they may choose to offer medications to help manage the symptoms. These medications are potentially dangerous and therefore require careful monitoring.
Once a diagnosis is made, the specialist is responsible for initiating medications, making any adjustments until the dose has been stabilised. The specialist will also remain responsible for arranging an annual review, which includes a review of your ADHD symptoms, your medication and a physical assessment. Once an established dose of the appropriate medication has been established, we may take on responsibility for on-going prescribing and monitoring under a shared care agreement with the NHS service specialist, however responsibility for prescribing and monitoring remains with the specialist.
Alternatively, patients can exercise their ‘right to choose’ and ask to be referred to a private provider who has an existing contract to provide NHS services. This may be because the wait times are shorter. For details on your ‘right to choose’ options, please contact the surgery.
You need to be aware that should you choose to be referred to a private provider, and a diagnosis is made, we will not be in a position to prescribe ADHD medication or arrange monitoring. This is because the private providers may not be able to offer the same follow-up or monitoring as NHS specialists. As a practice, we will not enter into a shared care agreement with a private provider. Getting the ADHD medication must all be done through the private provider and you should check on the costs of ongoing treatment including prescribing and yearly reviews.
Private providers each have their own referral process and you should refer to their websites for more information. We may need information from you in order to complete a referral to a private provider on your behalf. Failure to respond to a request for information about your referral in a timely manner, will result in your referral request being cancelled.
If a patient who has been diagnosed by a private service wishes to receive their ADHD treatment on the NHS from their GP, they will still need to be referred to an NHS mental health specialist for an assessment. This referral will still need to go through the NHS waiting list.
If the NHS mental health specialist feels the patient meets NHS criteria to start ADHD medication, a shared care agreement may then be agreed between the NHS specialist and GP.
For further information on ADHD please visit the NHS website – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new law that determines how your personal data is processed and kept safe, and the legal rights that you have in relation to your own data. The GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 will replace the existing Data Protection Act 1998.
The regulation applies from the 25th May 2018.
What GDPR means for patients:
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Data must be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently
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It must be collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes
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It must be limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed
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Information must be accurate and kept up to date
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Data must be held securely
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It can only be retained for as long as is necessary for the reasons it was collected
Rights for patients about the information that practices hold:
- Being informed of how your data is being used
- You have access to your own data
- You can ask to have incorrect information changed
- Restrict how your data is used
- To move your data from one health organisation to another
- The right to object to your information being processed (in certain circumstances)
Click here to read our subject access request policy.
Click here to read our Privacy Notice – How we use your information to provide you with healthcare.
GP Earnings
All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to delivery NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in the Old Fletton Surgery in the the last financial year was £77,911 before Tax and National Insurance. This is for 4 full time GPs and 4 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.
Named Accountable GP
Every patient who is registered at the practice has been allocated and notified of their accountable named GP. Your accountable named GP will be responsible for your overall care. If you can’t remember who your accountable GP is then you can contact the practice. If you have a preference for a particular GP we will do our best to accommodate your request. Being allocated an accountable GP doesn’t mean that you cannot see any GP at the practice. You are entitled to request to see any GP at the practice.
Your Information
We ask for information about you so that you can receive the best possible care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, to ensure that your doctor or nurse has accurate and up-to-date information which may be needed if we see you again.
We only use or pass information about you to people who have a genuine need for it in connection with your medical care. Whenever we can we will remove details that identify you as an individual. Everyone working in the NHS has a legal duty to maintain the highest level of confidentiality about patient information.