Veteran Friendly

Elgar House Surgery is an accredited Veteran Friendly GP Practice. We are proud to support our Armed Forces community.

As a Veteran Friendly GP Practice we:

• Have a clinical lead for veteran health- Jessica Bethel (Deputy Practice Manager).

• Ask patients ‘Have you served?’ to identify veteran patients

• Support veteran patients to access dedicated health services

• Undertake specialist training to meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant.

If you are a veteran patient, please let us know that you have served so that we can make sure that we understand your health needs.

Nearly 1,100 practices are now Veteran Friendly accredited. To find out more about the Veteran Friendly Practices accreditation scheme, visit rcgp.org.uk/veterans The Veteran Friendly Practices accreditation scheme is run by the Royal College of General Practitioners in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Accountable GP

The NHS requires that every patient is allocated a named accountable GP. All registered patients have been allocated a named GP, and any newly registered patients will be allocated a named GP within 21 days of registering. This is for administrative purposes only and you retain the right to see any of our GPs. You will still be able to book an appointment with the GP of your choice.

What does ‘accountable’ mean?

The named accountable GP takes responsibility for the co-ordination of all medical services and ensures they are delivered to each of their patients where required. This new arrangement has been introduced to reassure patients that they have one GP within the practice who is responsible for ensuring that work is carried out on their behalf.

Does the requirement mean 24-hour responsibility for patients?

No. The named GP will not: take on responsibility for the work of other doctors or health professionals, take on 24-hour responsibility for the patient, or have to change their working hours, be the only GP or clinician who will provide care to that patient.

Can patients choose their own named GP?

Patients have been allocated a named GP by the practice. However, if a patient requests a particular GP, reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate their preference.

Do patients have to see the named GP when they book an appointment with the practice?

No. Patients are free to choose to see any GP or nurse in the practice.
If you would like to know who your named accountable GP is, or you have a preference as to which GP you are allocated please contact the Surgery for more information.

Safeguarding

Please click here to view our leaflet.

DNA Policy

At Elgar House Surgery there is a DNA policy in place which, for patients who repeatedly fail to attend, may result in them being removed from the organisation’s list.

A missed appointment could have been used by another patient if the patient had provided the practice with adequate notice that the appointment was no longer required.

DNA letter or text message – Sent after the patient has failed to attend an appointment.

DNA letter 2- Sent after the patient has failed to attend three appointments and warns them about the process of four.

DNA letter 3- Patient has now missed four appointments within a twelve-month period without justification and will receive a removal letter.

Please help us to maximise appointment availability in the future. Your cooperation is very much appreciated.

Infection Control Statement

Please click here to view our statement.

Violence Policy

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.

Training Practice

GPs in Training

Our practice is approved to train fully qualified doctors who wish to specialise in general practice. Our GP registrar will have had 2-4 years of experience as a qualified hospital doctor working in various specialities. They consult patients on their own, under the mentorship of our trainer, Dr Shah. Occasionally we ask permission to video a consultation. You will always be asked in advance and are given the option not to take part, and this will not affect your care in any way. No recording will be taken without your consent and the camera will be switched off on request. These videos are used only for educational purposes with the doctor doing the consultation and are destroyed after use.

Dr Fiona McLeod is currently the GP registrar at the practice.

Medical Students

Medical students are sometimes attached to the practice for 2 – 3 weeks as part of their training. If you do not wish a student to be present during your consultation, please inform the receptionist.

Dr Kehinde Idowu is currently the GP student at the practice.

 

Summary Care Record

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

IT Policy

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: