Should a registered patient inform the organisation that they are going to change, or have changed, their address, they are to be instructed to visit the NHS App
You can also visit the surgery and bring two forms of ID to confirm the changes.
Veterans’ Health
We are an Armed Forces veteran friendly accredited GP practice.
The team at St Helens Medical Centre are proud to be an accredited Veteran Friendly GP practice and to support our veteran community.
As a Veteran Friendly GP Practice we:
- Have a clinical lead for veteran health, Dr Briggs, who is supported by the whole practice to improve veteran health services.
- Ask patients ‘Have you served in the Armed Forces?’ to help identify veteran patients and code them on our system.
- Support veteran patients to access dedicated health services
- undertake regular training and development to meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant and better understand the needs of veteran patients.
If you’re a veteran patient, please let us know that you have served so that we can make sure that we understand your health needs.
A University of Chester study revealed that the Veteran Friendly Accreditation programme, which is run by the Royal College of General Practitioners in partnership with NHS England, leads to better healthcare.
Equality and Diversity Statement
Equality and Diversity Statement
At St Helens we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diversity is celebrated, and every individual is treated with respect and fairness. Our goal is to create an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute to their full potential.
We provide equal opportunities for all, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or gender reassignment. We strictly adhere to the principles of the UK Equality Act 2010 and take active steps to ensure fair treatment in all aspects of our employment practices.
By promoting diversity and inclusivity, we aim to enhance our creativity, innovation, and success. We believe that a diverse team strengthens our ability to achieve excellence and meet the needs of the community we serve.
If you have any questions about our commitment to equality and diversity or require adjustments during the recruitment process, please feel free to contact the Practice Manager.
Access to Records
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Access to Health Records Act, patients (or their representatives) may request access to their medical records. No information will be released without the patient (or their representatives) consent unless we are legally obliged to do so. Requests are free of charge and under the GDPR and DPA 2018 we have one month to comply with your request. Under the Access to Health Records (access to deceased individuals records) we have 40 calendar days to comply with such requests.
Freedom of Information
Freedom of Information and Disclosure
Information regarding GPs and the practice, as required under relevant legislation, can be made available to the public. All requests for such information must be submitted in writing to the Practice Manager.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) in the UK, public authorities are required to respond to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests within 20 working days from the day after the request is received.
Extensions to the Timeframe:
- If additional time is needed to consider the public interest test, the authority may extend the response period by up to 20 additional working days.
- For environmental information requests governed by the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004, extensions may apply in cases of complexity.
Non-Compliance Procedures: If a public authority fails to meet the response deadline:
- The requester can submit a request for an internal review to the authority.
- If the issue remains unresolved, the requester can file a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Isle of Wight clinical commissioning group / NHS England / IW County Council
Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB
Omega House
112 Southampton Road
Eastleigh
SO50 5PB
Telephone: 0300 561 2561
NHS England
South East Regional Team
Oakley Road
Southampton
SO16 4GX
Tel: 023 80296914
www.nhs.uk/services
Isle of Wight County Council
Customer Service Centre
County Hall, High Street
Newport, Isle of Wight
PO30 1UD
Tel: 01983 821000
https://www.iow.gov.uk/
Patient Responsibilities Statement
Patient Rights & Responsibilities
Users of the National Health Service have rights. The following explains what they are. They fall into three main categories.
Legislated Rights
Rights that have been written into law by means of Parliamentary Acts or Bills. (For example, UK GDPR and DPA 2018). As a patient of the NHS you have 7 rights.
- You are entitled to receive health care on the basis of clinical need, regardless of your income.
- You are entitled to be registered with a Medical practice. You are entitled to change your practice at any time. You do not have to give a reason for your decision.
- You are legally entitled to accept or refuse treatment as you see fit. This includes examinations, tests, diagnostic procedures, medication, operations, etc.
- You can refuse to be involved in research trials. If you do not agree to be involved in research trials, you can withdraw at any time.
- You are entitled to equal treatment regardless of race, gender, age or disability.
- You have a right to information on GP practices in your area and the services they provide. All practices must provide an information leaflet.
- You have a right to confidentiality. Personal information about your health is confidential and should only be disclosed to those who need that information to provide you with effective treatment, you can consent to share with other individuals outside of the NHS
Access to your Health Records.
You have a legal entitlement to see a copy of the records held about you. All records stored on computer can be accessed. If you wish to see your records you should apply in to the practice for a Subject Access Request.
Guideline Rights
- You are entitled to have reasonable access to high quality service and facilities.
- You are entitled to information on what is wrong with you and the treatment options available. Ask questions. You should be given truthful, clear answers.
- You are entitled to ask for a second opinion on your diagnosis or treatment.
- You can ask to have someone with you (friend, relative, interpreter) at any time. You may find this beneficial, particularly if you are asking questions or need moral support.
Human Rights
It is your right to be treated as a human being by another human being and as they would wish to be treated themselves, i.e. with dignity, politeness, respect and consideration. These may not necessarily be covered legally or even be contained in guidelines, but human rights will come into many of the areas mentioned above and are certainly just as important.
Consent
A doctor, nurse, or anyone else looking after your health, has to have your agreement before they can examine or treat you. This policy applies to both children and adults. Your consent will be sought before any of your information is shared with any individual not connected with your direct health care.
Patient Responsibilities
Patients, too, have certain responsibilities:
- Keeping appointments: Please try to arrive on time. If you are unable to attend an appointment, please inform the clinic or surgery in good time. Address. If you move house, change address or telephone number, or the postcode is changed, please inform your GP practice or outpatient clinic.
- Treat all healthcare staff in a reasonable, courteous manner.
- Use emergency services in a responsible manner. Please use the out-of-hours services for emergencies only and not for routine care.
- Take care with medicines. Medicines are for one person only and should not be shared. Keep them safely away from children and in the original container. Take any unwanted medicines to a chemist for safe disposal.
Website Accessibility Statement
General
Practice365 strives to ensure that its services are accessible to people with disabilities. Practice365 has invested a significant amount of resources to help ensure that its websites are made easier to use and more accessible for people with disabilities, with the strong belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort and independence.
This accessibility statement applies to websites hosted by Practice365.co.uk.
Accessibility on Practice365
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
Enabling the Accessibility Menu
Disclaimer
Practice365 continues its efforts to constantly improve the accessibility of its site and services in the belief that it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible and unhindered use also for those of us with disabilities.
Here For You
If you are experiencing difficulty with any content on Practice365 website, widget, any of its services or require assistance with any part of our site or software, please contact us during normal business hours as detailed below and we will be happy to assist.
Contacting Us
If you wish to report a problem, have any questions or need assistance, please email us at hello@iatropartners.co.uk
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). If you are based in Northern Ireland, please reefer to Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) instead of the EASS and EHRC.
Named Accountable GP
From 1st April 2015 we are required by the Government, under the terms of the latest GP Contract, to allocate all patients a named accountable GP. This is purely an administrative exercise in order that patients can have a named responsible GP. This does not mean that they will be the only GP who will provide care to the patient. Patients are free to choose to see any GP in the Practice in line with current arrangements. If their preferred choice of GP is not available, an alternative will be offered.
The new contract requires the named accountable GP to be responsible for the co-ordination of all appropriate services required under the contract and ensure they are delivered to each patient where required. However, this does not mean that they will be the only GP or clinician who will provide care to that patient. These responsibilities will be carried out within the opening hours of the Practice and do not change the way you currently access care outside these hours. The allocation has been done for all existing patients, and all newly registered patients will be given a named accountable GP on registration.
Please be aware that you may still see any GP of your choice at the surgery and do not have to see your named accountable GP, nor does this mean that you will only be offered appointments with your named GP.
If you have not already been informed of the name of your accountable GP, please ask the receptionist when you are next in the surgery.
Proxy Access – accessing someone else’s information
Accessing someone else’s information
As a parent, family member or carer, you may be able to access services for someone else. We call this having proxy access. We can set this up for you if you are both registered with us.
To requests proxy access please complete this form.
Linked profiles in your NHS account
Once proxy access is set up, you can access the other person’s profile in your NHS account, using the NHS App or website.
The NHS website has information about using linked profiles to access services for someone else.