Confidentiality
Handsworth Medical Practice provides a confidential service to all our patients, including those under 16. This means that personal information regarding patients will not be disclosed to anyone outside the practice without permission from the patient, except in exceptional circumstances where somebody is at grave risk of serious harm.
The practice does from time to time participate in research projects that have been approved by the local ethics committee. All members of staff, including those seconded as attachments to the practice, are required to sign an agreement to abide by the practice policy which states that any breach of policy will result in dismissal or termination of the placement.
Handsworth Medical Practice asks that you respect and co-operate with our policy and do not request information about anyone other than yourself, this includes confirming attendance at surgery, test results or personal details.
Staff at Handsworth Medical Practice are also bound by a confidentiality agreement.
Freedom of information
We are a paper light practice: this means that most of the information we hold about you is on our secure computer system. We take great care in safeguarding information about you.
We have the highest standards of security in place and take steps to back up data regularly and have safeguards against fire and loss of data in the event of fire or other disaster.
Your data is accessed on a need to know basis only. We may share your data with other agencies involved in your care such as hospitals, we only give them the information they need to treat you. We also share data with people and organisations you ask us to, such as insurance companies and mortgage lenders.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 creates a right of access to recorded information and obliges a public authority to:
- Have a publication scheme in place.
- Allow public access to information held by public authorities.
The act covers any recorded organisational information such as reports, policies or strategies, that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland, however it does not cover personal information such as patient records which are covered by the Data Protection Act.
Public authorities include government departments, local authorities, the NHS, state schools and police forces.
The act is enforced by the Information Commissioner who regulates both the freedom of information act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
GP earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in Handsworth Medical Practice in the last financial year was £90,621 before tax and national insurance.
This is for 1 full time GP, who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.
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.
Named GP
We would like to inform you that the accountable general practitioner is Dr Anil Sharma.
We assign all new and existing patients with a named accountable GP to oversee their care.
For patients aged 75 and over, the named accountable GP is responsible for:
- working with health and social care professionals to deliver a care package that meets the needs of the patient
- ensuring that these patients have access to a health check
Patients can still choose to see any GP in the surgery. We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate their preference.
If you have a preference or want to know who your named GP is, you can contact us for more information.
Non-NHS work
Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges.
Examples include the following:
- Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
- Insurance claim forms
- Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
- Private sick notes
- Vaccination certificates
Non-NHS work fees
All fees are dependent on work involved / time element negotiated in advance.
Patient request personal letters
From £50.00 – Variable fees depending on request and subject to VAT.
Driving medical examination
Includes (but is not limited to) HGV, taxi, pilot, employment medicals.
Charge at the rate of £250.00 per hour (depending on form and may be subject to VAT).
Holiday cancellation certificates
Including written confirmations.
From £50.00 – Variable fees.
Vaccination certificate
£30.00 – Exempt from VAT.
Private sick note
£25.00 – Exempt from VAT.
Solicitors reports
Variable fees depending on request and subject to VAT.
Report on a pro forma, no examination (i.e. 20 mins)
£89.50 – May be subject to VAT.
Insurance forms
Mainly paid by the insurance companies.
Variable fees depending on request and subject to VAT.
Passport form countersignature or countersigning pictures
We no longer provider these services to our patients.
Private patients
We do not see private patients.
Privacy notices
Summary Care Record
There is a central NHS computer system called the Summary Care Record (SCR).
It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Why do I need a Summary Care Record?
Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed. Please visit our opening hours page.
This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.
Who can see it?
Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.
How do I know if I have one?
Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record.
Do I have to have one?
No, it is not compulsory.
If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a Summary Care Record opt-out form to let the surgery know.
More information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website.
Website privacy statement
We are committed to protecting your privacy. You can access our website without giving us any information about yourself. But sometimes we do need information to provide services that you request, and this statement of privacy explains data collection and use in those situations.
In general, you can visit our web site without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. However there may be occasions when you choose to give us personal information, for example, when you choose to contact us or request information from us. We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you.
We collect the personal data that you may volunteer while using our services. We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as public records or bodies, or private organisations. We do not collect or use personal data for any purpose other than that indicated below:
- To send you confirmation of requests that you have made to us
- To send you information when you request it.
We intend to protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information and we have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to do so. We ensure that your personal data will not be disclosed to State institutions and authorities except if required by law or other regulation.
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should be aware that we don’t have any control over the other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting these sites.
Our website and the services it enables are provided by Silicon Practice. Silicon Practice is a data processor which means that they will only process your personal data on the instruction of the practice, the data controller, unless otherwise required by law. The practice has entered into a data processing agreement with Silicon Practice which is a binding contract setting out the obligations of each party in relation to the processing of personal data.
If you would like to find out more about Silicon Practice you can access details of how they protect data and deliver services in their Data Processing Agreement.
Your rights and responsibilities
Your rights
- To be treated with dignity and respect irrespective of your colour, creed, age, medical condition (including disability) or sexual orientation.
- To be afforded the highest standard of medical care possible within the resources available.
- To be referred to a specialist or therapist if appropriate.
- To have a second opinion if that is appropriate.
- Patients can express a preference of practitioner when booking an appointment.
Your responsibilities
- To treat all members of our staff with courtesy regardless of their colour, creed, sex, age or any disability.
- To arrive in good time for your appointment.
- To cancel any appointments you do not need. To cancel an appointment, please view our cancel an appointment information.
- To use our emergency services for medically urgent problems only.
- To discuss no more than one problem per consultation.
- If more than one patient needs to be seen, please book one appointment per patient.
Zero tolerance
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.
Our staff work under constraints whilst endeavouring to offer the best possible service with the resources and facilities available.