In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2016, the Data Protection Act 2018 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and are usually free of charge.

No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

It is the policy of this practice to respect the privacy and dignity of our patients.

If you would like a chaperone to be present during a physical examination by a doctor, or any other health professional you may be consulting at the surgery or if you would prefer to be examined by a doctor or health professional of the same sex as yourself, please let us know and we will do our best to comply with your wishes.

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 can only answer comments or complaints about matters regarding The Valleys Medical Partnership.

We operate a Practice Complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints and our Complaints System meets the national standard.

How to complain or make a comment

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 help us to find out what happened more easily.

If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem.

You can make a comment or complaint by any of the following methods:

• • Fill in our printable complaints form, available to download here.

• • Write a letter to the Practice Manager.

• • Email: ddicb.mvmpadmin@nhs.net or ddicb.admin.gosforthvalley@nhs.net

• • Call us and ask to speak to the Assistant Practice Manager

Formal complaints should be submitted in writing and addressed to the Practice Manager. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the Assistant Practice Manager in order to discuss your concerns. The Manager will explain the complaints procedure to you and ensure your concerns are dealt with.

What We Do

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have investigated within 10 working days of the date when you raised it with us if possible.

When we look into your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances; make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if appropriate; make sure you receive any apology if this is appropriate and take steps to make sure the problem does not arise again.

You will receive a final letter setting out the results of any practice investigations.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so.

Please complete the printable complaint on behalf of someone else form, available to download here, and return it to the practice for the attention of the Practice Manager.

Complaining to NHS England

You may find it helpful to contact Primary Care Issues, Concerns and Complaints on free phone 0300 311 22 33 if you find it difficult or are unsure about complaining.

Their address is as follows:
NHS England,
Box 16738,
Redditch,
Worcester,
B97 9PT

Email: England.contactus@nhs.net

Taking it Further

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you may refer the matter to:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,
Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London,
SW1P 4QP

Complaints Helpline: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

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 about the General Practitioners 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.

Privacy Notice

How we use your information

Data Protection & Confidentiality Policy

The current NHS Digital (NHSD) extract of GP data for Research purposes (known as the GPDPR) has been delayed due to NHSD wishing to review the way in which this data will be collected, to conduct more public involvement and information about the plans and change the way in which patients can opt out of the extract of their GP data.

Currently the only way to opt out is to contact the practice, complete a Type 1 opt out form and return this to the practice. However, this extract will not be taken until the NHSD have changed the way it will take the data and respect the patient’s choice for using their data.  NHSD are introducing the following changes to the opt out process which will mean that patients will be able to change their opt-out status at any time:

• • Patients do not need to register a Type 1 opt-out to ensure their GP data will not be uploaded.

• • NHS Digital will create the technical means to allow GP data that has previously been uploaded to the system via the GPDPR collection to be deleted when someone registers a Type 1 opt-out.

• • The plan to retire Type 1 opt-outs will be deferred for at least 12 months while we get the new arrangements up and running and will not be implemented without consultation with the RCGP, the BMA and the National Data Guardian.

This means that you can opt out at any time in the future and NHSD will delete data that they already have taken for research purposes. Hopefully, this will be a simple centralised approach via the NHS app or NHS website to avoid paper form and administration work for your GP.

We will update you when we know more about the NHSD plans to change how you can control who has access to your data.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in The Valleys Medical Partnership in the last financial year was £69,463 before tax and national insurance. This is for 3 full-time GPs and 7 part-time GPs  who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

We aim to provide excellent care to our patients. Our charter is a statement of what you can expect from this practice and what we hope from you.

What you can expect from us:

• We will treat you with equality, respect and dignity, respect your privacy and treat you with confidentiality at all times.
• We will protect your data in line with the latest regulations.
• We will listen, involve you in decisions and give you a full and clear explanation of matters regarding your health.
• If you think you need an appointment we will help you access the care which is most appropriate for your needs.
• We will ensure that you are seen without unnecessary delay and that emergencies are prioritised.
• We will treat you with a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff.
• We will refer you within appropriate time scales to secondary care where necessary.
• We will deal with any complaints according to the practice complaints procedure.
• We will visit you at home if we feel this is necessary.
• We will provide a chaperone for intimate examinations if you would like one or if the clinician feels this is appropriate.
• We will ensure that services are provided in a clean, safe environment.
• We are committed to continuous improvement in the quality of services you receive and welcome your comments.
• The practice is committed to making a positive contribution to the future of the NHS. As part of this we will have GP Registrars and Foundation Doctors in practice.
• As a training practice, medical students may be present. You can request not to be seen by a student.
• We will provide you with online access so you can view your records, access test results, book appointments and order repeat prescriptions.

As you know we are being asked to deliver these services fairly and with finite resources. We therefore ask for your cooperation in helping us to deliver these standards of care.

What we expect from you:

• We ask that where you can, you look after your own and your family’s health.
• Please treat us with courtesy and respect. Unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated.
• Please respond in a positive way to questions asked by reception staff. This will enable them to arrange the most appropriate care.
• Appointments must be booked and are for one person and one problem only.
• If your request is urgent please call us as early as possible in the morning.
• We ask that you attend your appointments on time or cancel them if you are unable to attend.
• If you are more than ten minutes late you may be asked to rebook.
• Home visits should only be requested if a patient is unfit to attend surgery and if at all possible requested before 10:30am.
• Please inform the practice regarding changes to address/contact details etc.
• Please allow 2 working days (excluding weekends & bank holidays) for us to process your repeat prescription requests.
• We ask that you adhere to any management plan agreed, take the medicines as prescribed and attend for necessary health checks and blood tests.

At The Valleys Medical Partnership, we will not prescribe Diazepam for patients who wish to use this for a fear of flying. We have several reasons why we have taken this decision:

1. Diazepam is a sedative

The medication makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there was an emergency during the flight, this could impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions, or react to the situation. This could seriously affect the safety of you and the people around you.

2. Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep

When you sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means, your movements during sleep are reduced and this can place you at an increased risk of developing blood clots (DVT). These blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk further increases if your flight is over 4 hours long.

3. Diazepam has other side effects

Although most people respond to benzodiazepines like Diazepam with sedation, a small proportion experiences the opposite effect and can become aggressive. They can also lead to disinhibition and make you behave in ways you normally wouldn’t. This could also impact on your safety and the safety of your fellow passengers or could lead you to get in trouble with the law.

4. National prescribing guidelines followed by clinicians also don’t allow the use of benzodiazepines in cases of phobia

Any clinician prescribing diazepam for a fear of flying would be taking a significant legal risk as this goes against these guidelines. Benzodiazepines are only licensed for short-term use in a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the problem you suffer with, you should seek proper care and support for your mental health, and it would not be advisable to go on a flight.

5. In several countries, diazepam and similar drugs are illegal

They would be confiscated, and you might find yourself in trouble with the police for being in control of an illegal substance.

6. Diazepam has a long half-life

This means it stays in your system for a significant time, and you may fail random drug testing if you are subjected to such testing as is required in some jobs.

We appreciate a fear of flying is very real and very frightening and can be debilitating. However, there are much better and effective ways of tackling the problem. We recommend you tackle your problem with a Fear of Flying Course, which is run by several airlines. These courses are far more effective than Diazepam, they have none of the undesirable effects and the positive effects of the courses continue after the courses have been completed.

British Airways and Easyjet both offer Fear of Flying courses.

Some advice you may find useful about Fear of Flying: How to manage a fear of flying and flying anxiety.

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.