Statement of purpose
We aim to provide a high standard of medical practice and care, to treat patients with dignity, respect and honesty and to work together in partnership to protect and promote overall health and well being.
Equality, Diversity and Discrimination
The practice is committed to providing equality and fairness for all patients in their treatment, to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our workforce and to not discriminating on grounds of gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, religion/belief or age. The practice will not tolerate any form of unlawful or unfair discrimination, including comments or jokes which may be considered offensive.
Our commitment is:
· To treat all patients, staff and visitors fairly and with dignity and respect.
· To create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our patients, staff and visitors are recognised and valued.
· To offer equal opportunities to all patients, staff and visitors
· To not tolerate any discrimination against any patient (including those wishing to register), staff or job applicant or visitor for any of the above reasons; any such discrimination will be considered as a disciplinary offence.
· To review all our policies and working practices and procedures to ensure fairness.
If you feel that you are being discriminated against or not offered equal opportunities, you should bring the matter to the attention of the practice manager as quickly as possible, who will investigate the matter thoroughly and confidentially within five working days, establish the facts and decide whether discrimination has taken place and advise you of the outcome of the investigation in writing within ten working days and finally take appropriate action to prevent further discrimination and discipline the offender(s), if appropriate, via the practice's disciplinary procedure.
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.
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
Crabbs Cross Surgery is committed to race equality in our workforce and in all our work with and for the public. Our priorities for action include training and staff development to ensure that all staff have the skills and knowledge to put race equality into practice. We encourage feedback from black and ethnic minority service users. To assist us with this work, we need to compile data and you may be asked questions relating to your ethnic origin. If you have any comment on how we can improve our service, please forward these to the practice manager.
Crabbs Cross Surgery Consent Policy
When being examined or undergoing any procedure at the practice the doctor or nurse treating you will ensure that you fully understand and consent to any procedure, immunisation or investigation. They will ensure that you understand the reasons for the procedure and any significant risks involved and ensure that you have enough information to give ‘informed’ consent.
Consent can be implied (eg you offer your arm for a blood test) or expressed (written or verbal).We will endeavour to answer any questions you may have about the procedure honestly and fully.
In the case of children consent for a procedure , investigation or immunisation will be sought from the adult with parental responsibility. If a child is under 16 but has ‘sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him/her to understand fully what is proposed (known as Gillick competence), then he/she will be legally competent to consent for him/herself. Young people aged 16 and 17 and legally ‘competent’ younger children may therefore sign a consent form for themselves but may like a parent to countersign as well.
Further information about consent is available in the practice protocol ' Consenting to Investigations and Treatment'
Comments and Compliments
We welcome comments and suggestions for improving care or services provided by Crabbs Cross Surgery.These can be given to any member of the Crabbs Cross Surgery team who will pass them to the practice manager for action. We also like to hear if you feel any aspect of your service is working well.
Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
To pursue a complaint please either contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further guidance and a complaint form can be found by clicking on the following links.
Complaints Procedure.
Complaint Form
Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception. Any patients requiring additional support due to language difficulties or disability will be supported.
If your complaint is not resolved by the practice it can be referred to The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Details can be found in the Complaints Procedure link above.
Zero Tolerance to Violent or Aggressive Patients
In line with the rest of the NHS, Crabbs Cross Surgery has a Zero Tolerance Policy towards violent or aggressive patients. Aggression includes verbal aggression or threatening behaviour. Any patient behaving in an aggressive or threatening manner towards any member of the Crabbs Cross Surgery team, other patients or visitors, will receive a letter detailing the behaviour and warning they may be removed from the practice list. Any repeat of the behaviour will result in removal from the practice list. An act of violence by a patient to a member of the Crabbs Cross Surgery team, another patient or visitor or damage to Crabbs Cross Surgery property will result in the police being called, removal of the patient from the premises, possible criminal proceedings and immediate removal from the practice list.