We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.

You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.

Please click here to view our policy.

Talk to us

Every patient has the right to make a complaint about the treatment or care they have received at St Stephen’s Medical Partnership.

We understand that we may not always get everything right and, by telling us about the problem you have encountered, we will be able to improve our services and patient experience.

 

Who to talk to

Most complaints can be resolved at a local level. Please speak to a member of staff if you have a complaint; our staff are trained to handle complaints.  Alternatively, ask to speak to the complaint’s manager, Judy Langford (Maple View) Vicky Hewitt (St Stephens).

If for any reason you do not want to speak to a member of our staff, then you can request that NHS England investigates your complaint. They will contact us on your behalf:

NHS England

PO BOX 16738

Redditch

B97 9PT

03003 112233

england.contactus@nhs.net

A complaint can be made verbally or in writing.  A complaints form is available from reception or you can download it by clicking the link at the bottom of this section, fill it out and hand into reception. Additionally, you can complain via email to m81001prescriptions@nhs.net (St Stephens medical partnership).

 

The time constraint on bringing a complaint is 12 months from the occurrence giving rise to the complaint, or 12 months from the time you become aware of the matter about which you wish to complain.

The Site Manager will respond to all complaints within three business days.

We will aim to investigate and provide you with the findings as soon as we can and will provide regular updates regarding the investigation of your complaint.

 

Investigating complaints

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will investigate all complaints effectively and in conjunction with extant legislation and guidance.

 

Confidentiality

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will ensure that all complaints are investigated with the utmost confidentiality and that any documents are held separately from the patient’s healthcare record.

 

Third party complaints

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership allows a third party to make a complaint on behalf of a patient. The patient must provide consent for them to do so.  A third-party patient complaint form is available from reception.

 

Final response: St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will issue a final formal response to all complainants which will provide full details and the outcome of the complaint. Further information is detailed in our organisation policy.

 

Further action

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint from either NHS England or this organisation then you can escalate your complaint to:

Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

Milbank Tower

Milbank

London

SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0345 015 4033

www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

Advocacy support

• POhWER support centre can be contacted via 0300 456 2370
• Advocacy People gives advocacy support on 0330 440 9000
• Age UK on 0800 055 6112
• Local Council can give advice on local advocacy services

Please click here to download our complaints form.

You can be assured that anything you discuss with any member of the surgery staff, whether doctor, nurse or receptionist, will remain confidential. Even if you are under 16, nothing will be said to anyone, including parents, other family members, care workers or teachers, without your permission. The only reason why we might want to consider passing on confidential information without your permission would be to protect either you or someone else from serious harm. In this situation, we would always try to discuss this with you first.

If you have any worries or queries about confidentiality, please ask a member of staff.

If you would like to discuss matters of a confidential nature, either with our receptionists or a member of the dispensary team, we have a side room available in reception for this purpose.

 

Data Protection Privacy Notice for Candidates applying for work

 

Introduction:

 

This privacy notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you.

This privacy notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the practice.

This Notice explains

• Who we are, how we use your information and our Data Protection Officer
• What kinds of personal information about you do we process?
• What are the legal grounds for our processing of your personal information (including when we share it with others)?
• What should you do if your personal information changes?
• For how long your personal information is retained by us?
• What are your rights under data protection laws?

 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became law on 24th May 2016. This is a single EU-wide regulation on the protection of confidential and sensitive information. It enters into force in the UK on the 25th May 2018, repealing the Data Protection Act (1998).

 

For the purpose of applicable data protection legislation (including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (the “GDPR”), and the Data Protection Act 2018 (currently in Bill format before Parliament) the practice responsible for your personal data is [Practice Name].

This Notice describes how we collect, use and process your personal data, and how, in doing so, we comply with our legal obligations to you. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and safeguarding your data privacy rights

This Privacy Policy applies to the personal data collected from Candidates applying for roles within the practice.

 

How we use your information and the law.

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will be what’s known as the ‘Controller’ of the personal data you provide to us.

Upon commencement of employment with the company you will be asked to supply the following personal information:

 

Name, address, telephone numbers, email address, date of birth, national insurance number, bank details, emergency contact information and health information.

 

The information that we ask you to provide to the company is required by the business for the following reasons:

 

• In order for us review your application
• In order for us to contact you for interview details
• Comply with appropriate Employment law
• To ensure that we can provide any reasonable adjustments as necessary 

  We ask that you provide ID for copying to comply with our responsibilities as an employer under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.

   

  Throughout the application process we will collect data and add to your  file i.e. interview scores etc

   

   

  How do we lawfully use your data?

  We need to know your personal, sensitive and confidential data in order to Employ you, under the General Data Protection Regulation we will be lawfully using your information in accordance with: –

  Article 6, (b) Necessary for performance of/entering into contract with you

  Article 9(2) (b) Necessary for controller to fulfil employment rights or obligations in employment.

  This Privacy Notice applies to the personal data of our Candidates.

   

  How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records? 

  We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:

  • Data Protection Act 2018
  • The General Data Protection Regulations 2016
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
  • NHS Codes of Confidentiality, Information Security and Records Management

   

   

  We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others who 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), where the law requires information to be passed on.

  Our practice policy is to respect the privacy of our candidates and to maintain compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and all UK specific Data Protection Requirements. Our policy is to ensure all personal data related to our candidates will be protected.

   

  All employees and sub-contractors engaged by our practice are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. The practice will, if required, sign a separate confidentiality agreement if the client deems it necessary.  If a sub-contractor acts as a data processor for [Practice Name] an appropriate contract (art 24-28) will be established for the processing of your information.

   

  In Certain circumstances you may have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of data. Please contact the Data Protection Officer in writing if you wish to withdraw your consent.  If some circumstances we may need to store your data after your consent has been withdrawn to comply with a legislative requirement.

  Where do we store your information Electronically?

  All the personal data we process is processed by our candidates in the UK however for the purposes of IT hosting and maintenance this information may be located on servers within the European Union.

  No 3rd parties have access to your personal data unless the law allows them to do so and appropriate safeguards have been put in place.  We have a Data Protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal and or special category (sensitive, confidential) data.

  Who are our partner organisations?

  We may also have to share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, with the following organisations;

  • NHS Commissioning Support Units
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • NHS England (NHSE) and NHS Digital (NHSD)
  • Local Authorities
  • CQC
  • Private Sector Providers providing employment services
  • Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of

   

  You will be informed who your data will be shared with and in some cases asked for consent for this happen when this is required.

  We may also use external companies to process personal information, such as for archiving purposes. These companies are bound by contractual agreements to ensure information is kept confidential and secure.  All employees and sub-contractors engaged by our practice are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. If a sub-contractor acts as a data processor for [Practice Name] an appropriate contract (art 24-28) will be established for the processing of your information.

   

  How long will we store your information?

  We are required under UK tax law to keep your information and data for the full retention periods as specified by the UK Employment legislation as below

   

  Business Function	Documents	Retention Period
  	Training records	Current year plus 2 years
  	Candidate application forms/CVs and archiving documentation (of applicants who aren’t successful)	6 months post-date of recruitment decision
  	DBS data	6 months post-date of check

   

   

  How can you access, amend move the personal data that you have given to us?

  Even if we already hold your personal data, you still have various rights in relation to it. To get in touch about these, please contact us. We will seek to deal with your request without undue delay, and in any event in accordance with the requirements of any applicable laws. Please note that we may keep a record of your communications to help us resolve any issues which you raise.

  Right to object: If we are using your data because we deem it necessary for our legitimate interests to do so, and you do not agree, you have the right to object. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases). Generally, we will only disagree with you if certain limited conditions apply.

  Right to withdraw consent: Where we have obtained your consent to process your personal data for certain activities (for example for a research project), or consent to market to you, you may withdraw your consent at any time.

  Right to erasure: In certain situations (for example, where we have processed your data unlawfully), you have the right to request us to “erase” your personal data. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases) and will only disagree with you if certain limited conditions apply. If we do agree to your request, we will Delete your data but will generally assume that you would prefer us to keep a note of your name on our register of individuals who would prefer not to be contacted. That way, we will minimise the chances of you being contacted in the future where your data are collected in unconnected circumstances. If you would prefer us not to do this, you are free to say so.

  Right of data portability: If you wish, you have the right to transfer your data from us to another data controller.

  Access to your personal information 

  Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR): You have a right under the Data Protection legislation to request access to view or to obtain copies of what information the surgery holds about you and to have it amended should it be inaccurate. To request this, you need to do the following:

  • Your request should be made in writing to the Practice
  • There is no charge to have a copy of the information held about you
  • We are required to respond to you within one month

  What should you do if your personal information changes?

  You should tell us so that we can update our records please contact the Practice Manager as soon as any of your details change, this is especially important for changes of address or contact details (such as your mobile phone number), the practice will from time to time ask you to confirm that the information we currently hold is accurate and up-to-date.

  Objections / Complaints

  Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the Surgery, please contact the GP Practice Operations Manager. If you are still unhappy following a review by the GP practice, you have a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: You have a right to complain to the UK supervisory Authority as below.

   

  Information Commissioner:

  Wycliffe house

  Water Lane

  Wilmslow

  Cheshire

  SK9 5AF

   

  Tel:       01625 545745

  https://ico.org.uk/

   

  If you are happy for your data to be extracted and used for the purposes described in this privacy notice, then you do not need to do anything.  If you have any concerns about how your data is shared, then please contact the Practice Data Protection Officer.

  If you would like to know more about your rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you, please contact the Data Protection Officer as below.

   

  Data Protection Officer:

   

  The Practice Information Governance Lead is Judy Langford, Operations Manager. Any queries in regard to Data Protection issues should be addressed to her.

   

  Email:   judylangford@nhs.net

   

  Changes:

  It is important to point out that we may amend this Privacy Notice from time to time.  If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our Privacy Notice, please contact the Practice Data Protection Officer.

---

St Stephens Medical Partnership uses your information to provide you with healthcare

This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.

We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment.

We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.

Click here to view how we use your information leaflet.

 

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised, and the required disclosure is shown below. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.

 

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (i.e. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in St Stephens Medical Partnership in the last financial year 2021/22 was £ 62,707 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs, 16 part time GPs and 1 locum GP

who worked in the practice for longer than six months.

This practice is committed to preserving, as far as is practical, the security of data used by our information systems. This means that we will take all reasonable actions to;

Maintain the Confidentiality of all data within the practice by:

• Ensuring that only authorised persons can gain access to our systems
• Not disclosing information to anyone who has no right to see it

Maintain the integrity of all data within the practice by:

• Taking care over input
• Ensuring that all changes are reported and monitored
• Checking that the correct record is on the screen before updating
• Reporting all apparent errors and ensuring that they are resolved

Maintain the availability of all data by:

• Ensuring that all equipment is protected from intruders
• Ensuring that backups are taken at regular, predetermined intervals
• Ensuring that contingency is provided for possible failure or equipment theft and that any such contingency plans are tested and kept up to date

Additionally we will take all reasonable measures to comply with our legal responsibilities under:

• The Data Protection Act (2018)
• The Health and Safety at Work Act (1992)
• The Access to Health Records Act (1990)

From 1 April 2014, the practice was required under the terms of the GP contract to ensure all patients aged 75 and over were allocated a Named Accountable GP. From 1 April 2015 this was extended to all registered patients in the practice.

Patients aged 75 and over will continue to be allocated the doctor who knows them best when they reach their 75th birthday. Each patient aged 75 will receive a letter advising them of their named GP and inviting them to attend for an annual health check with a member of the nursing team.

For all patients aged under 75 your Named Accountable GP will be the named doctor you are registered with.

If you wish to be told the name of your Accountable GP, please ask the receptionists when you are next in the surgery.

If you need input from a variety of health professionals, then you can discuss these with your Named Accountable GP if you wish. Alternatively you can discuss these with any of the other doctors in the practice.

Having a named GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice and you should continue to book appointments as you normally would.
Your named GP will not be available at all times and if your needs are urgent, you may need to discuss them with an alternative doctor.
If you do wish to express a preference please let the receptionist know and we will try to accommodate your request. If you do not hear back from the practice we can confirm that this change will be made

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership Easy Read Privacy Notice

 

Surgeries, like St Stephen’s Medical Partnership have to keep information about people.  It is law that the companies must keep this information safe and secure.

This is called a Privacy Notice.

This privacy notice explains how we use any information we collect about you, how you can tell us if you prefer to change the way that we use your information and your rights about the information we have about you.

 

Your rights about your personal information 

This privacy policy explains how you can tell us if you prefer to limit the use of that information and procedures that we have in place to look after your privacy.

Information about you that we may keep

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will keep information about you to make sure that we can take the very best care of you.

Information about you that we may keep

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership might keep information such as:

• Your basic details e.g. name, address, date of birth, emergency contact
• How we support you
• Your likes and dislikes
• Details about your health (which we keep extra safe)

 

Information about your health that we will keep

St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will use your health information to:

• Choose the support, care, and services that you might need
• Keep you safe and healthy
• Help you find the right treatment
•  

  St Stephen’s Medical Partnership must follow the law when collecting, storing, or sharing information about you.

   

   

  How we keep your information safe 

   

  St Stephen’s Medical Partnership will always keep your information private and safe.

   

  The only people that we will let see your information are:

   

  • People with permission like a member of your family who will support and help you to understand your records.

   

  • People who have the right to see it by law 

    People or organisations who may have a legal reason to see your information

     

    These include:

    • Parts of the health and care system, such as your other health professionals, social workers, or pharmacy staff
    • Your local council.
    • The policy or security services.

     

    How long we keep your information for:

    • The amount of time we keep your information will be in line with how long the law says we must keep it for, and the rules set by other organisations.
    • The amount of time we keep your information will depend on why it was needed in the first place.
    • Or we will follow a Data Retention Policy, this will tell us how long we keep your information.

     

     

    You have these rights when it comes to your information:

    • the information we keep about you is yours.
    • We will make sure it is kept private and is only used properly.
    • You can ask to see a copy of the information we have about you.
    • If you think the information, we have about you is wrong, or has parts missing, you can ask us to correct it.
      • If you think we have information about you that is no longer needed you can ask us to delete it. (But we will not be able to delete it if the law says it is still needed)

       

      • You can ask us to stop some of the ways that we use your information, even if you do not want your information deleted.

       

      • You can ask us to delete your information by withdrawing consent (consent is when you gave us the permission to use your information).

       

      • You can ask us not to use your information for legitimate interests (This means we have a clear reason or goal for doing something).

       

       

      If we cannot do what you have asked us to do, or you need help then you can contact the

      Data Protection Officer

       

       

      Hayley Gidman,

      MLCSU Heron House, Grove Road,

                                                                  ST4 4LX

                                                                  01782 872648

      If you are not happy in any way with how we have handled your information, then you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office:

       

       

                                              Call their helpline on 0303 12

Your patient record is held securely and confidentially on the electronic system at your GP practice. If you require treatment in another NHS healthcare setting such as an Emergency Department or Minor Injury Unit, those treating you would be better able to give you appropriate care if some of the information from the GP practice were available to them.

This information can now be shared electronically via: The Summary Care Record, used nationally across England

The information will be used only by authorised health care professionals directly involved in your care. Your permission will be asked before the information is accessed, unless the clinician is unable to ask you and there is a clinical reason for access.

If you would like to opt out, please ask reception for our opt out form.

A parent or guardian can request to opt out children under 16 but ultimately it is the GP’s decision whether to create the records or not, because of their duty of care to the child. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 and feel that they are able to understand, then you should make this information available to them.

Who Has Access?

Across all health care settings, including urgent care, community care and outpatient departments in England.

Information Source

GP record

Content

• Your current medications
• Any allergies you have
• Any bad reactions you have had to medicines
• Additional information (upon request to your GP)

For more information visit:

www.digital.nhs.uk

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.

Click here to view our letter to patients explaining Collective Action.

From 1 April 2014, the practice was required under the terms of the GP contract to ensure all patients aged 75 and over were allocated a Named Accountable GP. From 1 April 2015 this was extended to all registered patients in the practice.
Patients aged 75 and over will continue to be allocated the doctor who knows them best when they reach their 75th birthday. Each patient aged 75 will receive a letter advising them of their named GP and inviting them to attend for an annual health check with a member of the nursing team.
For all patients aged under 75 your Named Accountable GP will be the named doctor you are registered with.
If you wish to be told the name of your Accountable GP, please ask the receptionists when you are next in the surgery.
If you need input from a variety of health professionals, then you can discuss these with your Named Accountable GP if you wish. Alternatively you can discuss these with any of the other doctors in the practice.
Having a named GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice and you should continue to book appointments as you normally would.
Your named GP will not be available at all times and if your needs are urgent, you may need to discuss them with an alternative doctor.
If you do wish to express a preference please let the receptionist know and we will try to accommodate your request. If you do not hear back from the practice we can confirm that this change will be made.