Suggestions, comments and compliments

We welcome your suggestions, compliments and comments. There are feedback questionnaires available in all of our reception areas for you to submit any ideas, praises or grumbles you would like to make. Alternatively you can leave your review of us on NHS choices.  We review all the complaints, comments and suggestions we have received and make changes and improvements where necessary.

Complaints

We constantly strive to provide high-quality care to all our patients and willingly receive complaints, although we sincerely hope that you will not be given cause to complain. Sometimes we can alleviate your concerns with an informal conversation and explanation and our reception team will always try and resolve your problem in the first instance.  For patients wishing to make a more formal complaint about any aspect of our service, please put the complaint in writing to the Practice Manager. Our Complaints Procedure explaining the full complaints process is available here. On receipt of a complaint, the Practice Manager will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have investigated your complaint within 1 month of the date when you raised it with us. If the investigation is likely to take longer you will be notified of this fact.

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 Staffa Health in the last financial year (2019-2020) was £63,712.00 before tax and national insurance. This is for 11 part time GPs and 2 locums who worked in the practice for more than six months.

The following patient leaflet explains how your data is used by the NHS.

Your Data Matters – Patient Handout

GP practices in England are required to provide all patients with a named GP who is responsible for patients’ overall care at the practice.

Your named GP will be recorded on our patient administration system. This does not prevent you from seeing any GP in the practice and you should continue to book appointments with the clinician of your choice.

If you wish to know who is your named GP or you have a preference as to which GP it is, please let us know and we will make reasonable efforts to accommodate this request.

Summary Care Records (SCR)

Your Summary Care Record is a short summary of your GP medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you about the medicines you take and your allergies. This means they can give you better care if you need health care away from the surgery:

• in an emergency
• when you’re on holiday
• when your surgery is closed
• at out-patient clinics
• when you visit a pharmacy

When you are treated away from your usual doctor’s surgery, the health care staff there can’t see your GP medical records. Looking at your Summary Care Record can speed up your care and make sure you are given the right medicines and treatment. Staff will ask your permission to look at it (except in an emergency where you are unconscious, for example) and only staff with the right levels of security clearance can access the system, so your information is secure. You can ask an organisation to show you a record of who has looked at your Summary Care Record – this is called a Subject Access Request.

Enhanced Summary Care Record

You can add more information to your Summary Care Record by asking us to do this at the practice.

This could include:

• health problems like dementia or diabetes
• details of your carer
• your treatment preferences

We encourage all patients to request an Enhanced Summary Care Record because it ensures that the people who are involved in your care are aware of your wishes. Just let us know at the practice if you would like to request and Enhanced Summary Care Record or email: admin.staffahealth@nhs.net

Opting out

Summary Care Records improve care, but if you don’t want to have one you can opt out. Fill in a Summary Care Record Opt Out Form and give it to us at the practice.

More information on your health records

Read more about your medical records at Your health records – NHS Choices.

We are a registered Training Practice and offer work placement for health professionals who are undergoing post-graduate training, for example qualified doctors who are training to become general practitioners and nurses who are going to become community specialists. Patients may choose not to be seen by professionals undergoing training and you will always be asked if you have any objections.

On occasions we ask to may make video recordings of patients’ consultations with the doctor in order to give feedback to the trainee; but this will not be done without a patients consent and intimate physical examinations will not be recorded. Any planned videotaping will be explained fully to patients and they will have a full opportunity to give or withdraw their consent. If a patient does not wish to have their consultation recorded this decision will not affect the consultation or future care with the doctor. The camera will not be switched on if a signed consent form is not presented to the doctor.

Staffa Health has a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and aggression against our staff members.

Please click on the link below to see a letter from our Senior Partners explaining this in more detail.

170930 Letter re zero tolerance

Our violence and aggression policy is available here:

Our Patient removals policy is available here: