• Dr Fuad Ahmed (m)
• Dr Alice Wilkinson (f)

We always try to give a good service but sometimes things go wrong. You can help us make changes by telling us about what is wrong and how you would like us to put it right.

You may want to complain about:

• A service
• Any action, attitude or behaviour of a member of staff which has affected you or someone close to you

Please get in touch with Julie Wallis, the Practice Manager, if you need help or support in using our procedure, or if you need the information in another format.

Patient Complaints Procedure

Complaint Form

Patient Complaint Form- Third Party Consent

Patient Advice and Liaison Service

https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/nhs-services-and-treatments/what-is-pals-patient-advice-and-liaison-service/

Modern Slavery Statement

Our Health Partnership – Modern Slavery Statement

Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) requires commercial organisations operating in the UK with an annual turnover in excess of £36m to produce a ‘slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year of the organisation’.

Organisational Structure and Business

Our Health Partnership is one of the UK’s biggest GP partnerships. It brings together 52 surgeries in the Midlands and Shropshire. By using our shared expertise to tackle the challenges of GP practice today, we can keep local surgeries thriving and provide the excellent care that our patients need now and into the future.

Our approach to slavery and human trafficking

We are committed to tackling modern slavery within every part of our business and its supply chains. Our Anti-slavery statement, in combination with the establishment of effective policies, demonstrates our commitment to the issue of modern slavery and ensures that appropriate and coordinated action is taken throughout the business.

Due diligence

We have taken action to understand and address the risks of modern slavery within our operations, including:

The development of robust processes around whistleblowing, grievance, disciplinary and bullying and harassment policies, to provide both staff and patients with assurance that modern slavery concerns will be raised and dealt with appropriately

Staff training and increasing awareness of modern slavery, on how to spot signs and raise complaints within the organisation, and monitoring the delivery of this training to staff

Putting in place Strict standards for conduct in the workplace, mirroring the NHS code of conduct, as referenced within our staff handbook and code of conduct policy

Ensuring inappropriate employment practices are avoided by adhering to our Illegal Working Prevention, DBS, and Recruitment policies, to ensure identity checks, DBS, qualifications and references are in place

Continued development of policies around safeguarding.

At Victoria Road Surgery we treat our patients with respect and dignity and do not discriminate against them in any way, on the grounds of age, sex or sexual orientation, colour, race, ethnic background, disability, religion or religious or philosophical belief.

Physical violence and verbal abuse is growing concern.  Doctors, nurses and other practice staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.  We ask that you treat your doctor and practice staff properly, without violence or abuse.  We strongly support the NHS policy on Zero Tolerance.

Any patient either phoning or attending the Practice who abuses any staff member or patient, be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever will risk removal from the Practice list.

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: –

The right to request a copy of your personal data which this practice holds about you;

The right to request that this practice corrects any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;

The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for the practice to retain such data. Although please note for Patients at this practice, your records will be retained until death;

The right to withdraw consent to the processing at any time;

The right to data portability;

The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed o further processing;

The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.

We may also have to share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used. The following are examples of the types of organisations that we are likely to share information with:

• NHS and specialist hospitals, Trusts

• Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists

• Private and Voluntary Sector Providers

• Ambulance Trusts

• Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England

• Social Care Services and Local Authorities

• Education Services

• Police, Fire and Rescue Services

• Other ‘data processors’ during specific project work e.g. Diabetes UK

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with the GDPR (which is overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office), Human Rights Act, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security.

All of our staff, contractors and committee members receive appropriate and on-going training to ensure they are aware of their personal responsibilities and have contractual obligations to uphold confidentiality, enforceable through disciplinary procedures. Only a limited number of authorised staff has access to personal information where it is appropriate to their role and is strictly on a need-to-know basis.

We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you always. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), or where the law requires information to be passed on.

All of our patients aged 40-74 not previously diagnosed with cardiovascular disease are eligible to be invited for an NHS Health Check. Nobody outside the healthcare team in the practice will see confidential information about you during the invitation process and only contact details would be securely transferred to a data processor (if that method was employed). You may be ‘given the chance to attend your health check either within the practice or at a community venue. If your health check is at a community venue all data collected will be securely transferred back into the practice system and nobody outside the healthcare team in the practice will see confidential information about you during this process.

If you have received treatment within the NHS, access to your personal information may be required to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group should pay for the treatment or procedure you have received.

This information would most likely include information such as your name, address, date of treatment and may be passed on to enable the billing process. These details are held in a secure environment and kept confidential. This information will only be used to validate invoices and will not be shared for any further purposes.