Practice Policies

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.

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

How to complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of days, or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:

• Concerns can be raised no later than 12 months from the date on which the issue occurred or the date the person realised they had a concern
• Acknowledgement of concerns to be made within 2 working days of their receipt
• Response to be sent within 30 working days of receipt of a concern or if that is not possible, the person to be kept informed

Complaints should be in writing addressed to Clare Joseph, Practice Manager, or any of the doctors. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Clare Joseph in order to discuss your concerns. He will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be of great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.

What we shall do

We shall acknowledge your complaint within two working days and aim to have a response within 30 working days. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. If we can’t reply to you in that time, we will give you the reasons why and let you know when you can expect a reply.

When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:

• find out what happened and what went wrong;
• make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this;
• make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;
• identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable [because of illness] of providing this.

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. But this does not affect your right to approach another body.

You can contact the Health Board concerns team by:

• Phoning 01437 771279
• Emailing hdhb.patientsuppportservices@wales.nhs.uk
• Writing a letter Hywel Dda Health Board, Freepost CT21/2, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 1BR
• Faxing 01437 771222

Or contact your local Community Health Council (CHC). Your local CHC provides a free and independent advocacy service, which is able to help patients or the people acting for them to raise a concern. The CHC will offer advice and support, including putting you in touch with specialist advocacy services if you need them.

Carmarthenshire CHC based at 103 Lammas Street, Carmarthen, SA31 3AP

Removal of patients from list

Meddygfa Tywyn Bach aims to provide the best possible health care for their patients.  However there may be circumstances when it would be considered reasonable, or in the best interests of the patient, to remove patient from the list.

Situations which justify removal

Violence

When a patient:-

• is physically violent or threatening towards a doctor, practice staff or other patients on the practice premises
• Causes physical damage to practice premises or other patients property
• Gives verbal abuse or makes threats towards the doctor, practice staff or other patients
• Gives racist abuse, orally or physically
• Is violent or uses or condones threatening behaviour to doctors (or some other members of the primary health care team) while visiting the patients home. Such behaviour my involve the patient, a relative, a household member, or pets (such as unchained dogs)

Crime and Deception

Where a patient:-

• Fraudulently obtains drugs for non-medical reasons
• Deliberately lies to the doctor or other member of the primary health care team (e.g. by giving a false name or false medical history) in order to obtain a service or benefit by deception.
• Attempts to use the doctor to conceal or aid any criminal activity
• Steals from practice premises

Distance

Where a patient has moved out of the designated practice area and has failed to register with another GP.

Embarkation

Where a patient has moved abroad for a period of 3 months or more.

Failure to attend pre-booked appointments

Where a patient fails to attend pre-booked appointments on a number of occasions during a given period.

Irretrievable Breakdown of the Doctor-Patient relationship

Where patients behaviour falls outside of that which is normally considered reasonable and lead to an irretrievable breakdown of the doctor-patient relationship.