2.0RSSBBC News | Health | UK EditionUpdated every minute of every day.Bed-sharing 'raises cot death risk'Sharing a bed with your newborn baby increases the risk of sudden death syndrome - commonly known as cot death - fivefold, research suggests.Tue, 21 May 2013 00:32:24 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22594587#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-saNHS urged to improve use of dripsThe lives of hospital patients who are put on a drip are being placed at risk by poor attention by staff to intravenous fluid care, experts warn.Mon, 20 May 2013 23:57:44 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22594584#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-saChief inspector of GPs post createdA chief inspector of GPs is to be appointed as part of a push to improve services outside of hospitals, ministers are set to announce.Tue, 21 May 2013 00:58:21 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22600011#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Services
Outside The NHS
Certain services provided by your doctor are not covered by the NHS, and you may therefore
be asked to pay a fee in line with British Medical Association recommendations.
Medical examinations can be arranged for travel, insurance purposes and HGV and
PSV licences. The practice is a recognised yellow fever vaccination centre. Our
practice nurse is happy to advise about holiday vaccinations, some of which are chargeable.
Teaching
As part of our continuing links with local Hospitals and Universities, we are
privileged to be recognised as a teaching practice. Consequently, medical students
or junior doctors may be in the surgery but you will always be asked for your
consent first if it is planned that they should they be present at a consultation.The practice may also have a
GP registrar who is already fully qualified but is with us to gain experience in general practice under our supervision.
Occasionally a video recording may be made of consultations and we would appreciate
your help with this important part of medical teaching. However, if you do not
want the video-camera to record your consultation then all you have to do is to
inform the receptionist when you book in for your appointment.
Patient
Information
Why You May Be Asked For Personal Information
In order to provide you with the best possible healthcare, we need to maintain
proper records of your health, and make sure that such data is available to your medical
team, wherever and whenever possible.
Doctors need to make notes relevant to your treatment about any diagnosis, test
results, treatments (including drug prescriptions) and other information that
may be provided. Nurses and other health professionals also need access to these
records and will add their own notes as part of the overall healthcare record.
Secretaries, receptionists and other clerical staff need access to your records
in order to complete administrative tasks, such as booking appointments and for
communicating with you, other parts of the NHS and care providers.
Protecting Your Information
Everyone working for the NHS has a responsibility and indeed a legal duty to protect
your information so that it is not disclosed to unauthorised bodies or people.
Information is recorded, either on paper or in computer files, but is all treated
with the same strictly controlled confidential care.
We need to be able to move electronic information from system to system, extracting
the data and modifying it for the next system. Periodically, tests will need to
be made on the data to check that it has been transferred correctly. This is done
under secure, carefully controlled conditions. The law strictly controls the sharing
of some types of very sensitive personal information.
We May Also Use Some Of The Information For Other Reasons
Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it
confidential. You may be receiving care from other organisations as well
as the NHS. Therefore to enable us to work together for your benefit, we may share some
information about you. Information may also be needed to carry out medical and
other health research for the benefit of everyone. Research projects are always
approved by local Research Ethics Committees. If anything to do with research
would involve you personally, you will be contacted beforehand to see if you would be willing
to take part.
Improvements and advances in medical care and treatment can only occur by monitoring
current practices. Sometimes managers and planners as well as researchers may
need to examine records to assist in the monitoring process. All data that could
identify you personally is removed. In addition, the NHS maintains a number of
registries for diseases such as cancer, to allow the NHS to plan the services
it provides. These registries are used to monitor the effectiveness of treatments,
and therefore over time improve the outcomes for specific conditions.
How To Access Your Health Records
You have a right of access to your own health records, subject to certain conditions.
Please make a written request to the practice manager if you want to see the information
that is kept about you at this GP surgery.
Patient Panel
We have a panel of interested patients who meet every other month. The duties are not onerous, so if you feel that you have two hours to spare every couple of months and would like to join us, please contact the practice manager at the surgery. There is a patient panel notice board next to the main reception desk.