Practice Policies

CCTV is installed at the practice premises for the purposes of staff, patient and premises security.  The CCTV is controlled by Northern Moor Medical Practice.  For more information please contact Christine Connolly (Practice Manager) on 0161 998 2503  during practice opening hours.

The practice adheres to the NHS Complaints procedure. Please ask for a copy of our complaints policy, and put your comments or complaints about our service in writing or ask for a meeting with the Practice Manager.

We also recognise the importance of recording the compliments received from patients, relatives and carers about our services.  Compliments can be received in various ways, such as via letter, cards, emails or verbal feedback.

We would be delighted to hear your positive feedback when you are pleased with a service we have provided since this not only helps us when planning for the future needs of patients, but also re-assures our teams of the excellent work they continue to perform.

• Online Complaint Form
• Complaint Leaflet
• Easy Read Complaints Booklet

Patients and service users trust us to respect their confidential information at all times.  Staff have a duty to treat personal information with confidentiality.  In the NHS, this duty is set out in the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice

We conform to the Data Protection Act. Any information we hold about you will not be disclosed to any other person outside the NHS, without your consent. Please collect a ‘How we use your Health Records’ from the practice which explains

• Why the NHS collects information about you and how it is used
• Who we may share information with
• Your right to see your health records and how we keep your records confidential

A Caldicott Guardian is a senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people’s health and care information and making sure it is used properly.  The Caldicott Guardian for Northern Moor Medical Practice is Dr Nicola Forbes & her deputy is Mrs Christine Connolly

GDPR Notice

We are very happy to assist with name and/or gender changes on your medical record, but please note the following information.

If you wish to change your name and/or title on your medical record: 

• You can change your first name at any time and we can update your record immediately. Please let us know in writing, or via the ‘Update Your Contact Details’ form on our website
• If you change your surname/last name/family name (apart from by marriage) we need to see proof of the change, eg: passport, driving licence or deed poll before we can update your medical record
• We can change your title as long as this change remains consistent with the gender on your medical record, eg: Miss/Ms/Mrs = female; Mr = male
• If you do not want a gender-specific title, we can change it to Mx
• Changes made at the surgery will not alter records held by the hospital, so you may wish to also notify any secondary care provider where you receive care/treatment

If you wish to change your gender on your NHS record, please be aware of the following: 

• The Surgery cannot change the gender that is on your existing medical record
• You can request a new medical record in your preferred gender identity; NHS will then close your current medical record and issue you with a new NHS number, and a new medical record
• Your new medical record will be completely blank, with none of your previous medical history, COVID vaccinations, medication etc, saved onto it 
• Your previous medical history can be attached to your new record as a ‘document’, so that clinicians will be able to see your history of consultations, referrals, test results, medication etc. This will just take slightly longer for them to access, eg: during a consultation
• Your regular medication will be added to your new record by a clinician when you next request it, and once this has been done you will be able to order repeat medications electronically in the future
• If you use the NHS App you will need to set this up again in your new NHS identity
• If you want a copy of your past immunisation record, this can be printed for you, but it will show your birth gender and previous name (if you have changed your name)
• It may take NHS England up to 4 months to process requests for gender change and issue a new NHS number; although this can happen more quickly, but we have no control over this. Once NHS England has sent us the new information it only takes the surgery a couple of days to process the new registration 
• If, having received a new medical record in a new gender identity, you decide to return to your previous gender identity, you will not be able to go back to your original NHS number. You will be issued with another new medical record and new NHS number

Please let us know if you wish to make any of these changes and we will be happy to help. You can email your request – including your current details and any changes – to: [email protected] or fill in an online contact form which can be found on the homepage of our Practice website

Your health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information. This data can be used to help with research and planning.

You can choose to stop your confidential patient information being used for research and planning. You can also make a choice for someone else like your children under the age of 13.

Your choice will only apply to the health and care system in England. This does not apply to health or care services accessed in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

You have until September 2021 to make a choice about whether you would like to opt out of this data share.

For more information please visit:

National Data Opt-out Information

National Data Opt-out FAQ Form

Updated June 2021

Privacy Notice

Northern Moor Medical Practice fully appreciates the importance of protecting and managing your data and maintaining your privacy. To ensure that we comply with these requirements all our data management and clinical processes fully recognise the data protection law in force in the UK (e.g. the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Protection Act 2018 includes relevant Articles from the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Please read the following information carefully to understand how we process your personal data.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Laws, the Data Controller is Northern Moor Medical Practice who’s address is 216 Wythenshawe Road, Northern Moor, Manchester M23 0PH

When we refer to ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’, we mean Northern Moor Medical Practice

Use of Your Personal Information +

Legal Basis for Processing +

Maintaining the Confidentiality of Your Records +

Partner Organisations +

Access to Personal Information and Your Rights +

National Data Opt-out +

Retention of your Data +

Withdrawal of Consent +

Cookies +

Updating Personal Details +

Mobile and Email Addresses +

Notification +

Complaints +

Use of Your Personal Information

This privacy notice explains why we collect information about you and how that information may be used.

Our health care professionals who provide you with our services maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously. These records help to provide our clients with the best possible healthcare.

Your records may exist in several formats including electronic, paper or a mixture of both, and we deploy many working organisations and approaches to ensure that suchinformation is maintained within a confidential and secureenvironment. The records which we could hold about you may include the following information: –

To ensure you receive the highest levels of care, your records will be used to facilitate the care that we provide. Anonymised information held about could, on occasions, be used to help protect the health and wellbeing of the generalpublic and to help us manage our contracts with commissioners. Information could also be used within our organisation for the purposes of clinical audits which in turnwill provide monitoring of the quality of the services we provide.

Some of this information will be used for statistical purposesand we will ensure that individuals cannot be identified. For situations where we may contribute to research projects, wewill always gain your explicit consent before releasing any relevant information.

Legal basis for Processing

Our ability to process your personal and healthcare data is covered by GDPR article 6 and for the processing of personal sensitive data by Article 9(2)h which indicates that processing of data is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems.

Maintaining the Confidentiality of Your Records

We will take all possible care to protect your privacy and will only use information collected with the law including: –

 Our staff are all trained and briefed in data protection principles and understand they have a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. They also understand that information about you will only be shared with other parties if there is an agreed need to do so or a legal reason. We will only share your data without your permission if there are very exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), where the law requires information to be passed on and / or in accordance with the Caldicot Principle 7 e.g. to share or not to share. This means that health and social care professionals should have the confidence to share information in the best interests of their patients within the framework set out by the Caldicott Principles. Whilst the Caldicott Principles were originally developed for NHS purposes, we have adopted the underlying principles in order to align with best practice.

All personal information that we manage is stored within the UK within a secure environment and we always use suitably protected methods and systems to transfer your personal information.

Partner Organisations

It may be possible that we will share your information with other organisations, if this is required, we will apply very strong controls. The current organisations who we share data with includes: –

It is noted that the above list is not exhaustive, and we may contract with other external organisations to undertake processing of your personal information. These 3rd party organisations will abide with our stringent contractual conditions regarding the protection of personal data.

In some cases, you will be requested to provide positive consent if we intend to share your personal details with other organisations.

Access to Personal Information and Your Rights

You have a right under the Data Protection Act 2018, torequest access to view or to obtain a copy of what information the organisation holds about you and to have it modified should it be inaccurate. The process to access your records is known as a Subject Assess Request (SAR) and the way it works is outlined below: –

In addition to the right of access, under the Data Protection Act 2018, you will also have the following rights: –

National Data Opt-out

The national data opt-out was introduced on 25 May 2018, enabling patients to Opt–out from the use of their data for research or planning purposes, in line with the recommendations of the National Data Guardian in her Review of Data Security, Consent and Opt-outs.

If you wish to opt-out as part of this process, please contact the practice and we will take the necessary action to add yourname to the Opt-out list

Retention of your data

Your data will be retained for no longer than is absolutely necessary and in accordance with our Documentation Management Lifecycle Policy and the associated Schedule of Retention

Withdrawal of Consent

If you have provided us with consent to process your data for the purpose of providing our services (other than direct care),you have the right to withdraw this at any time.  In order to do this should contact us in writing

Cookies

This website makes use of cookies to optimise user experience. By using our website, you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Updating Personal Details

If any of your details e.g. your name, address or other personal data have changed or are incorrect you have a responsibility to inform the professional treating you who will arrange for the necessary updates to be made. This will help us to ensure that the data we hold about you is accurate and complete.

Mobile Numbers & Email Addresses

If you provide us with your mobile phone number, we may use this to send you reminders about your appointments or other health screening information. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive reminders on your mobile. If you provide us with your email address, we may use this to send you reminders to make an appointment for a review. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive correspondence by email. 

Notification

The Data Protection Act 2018 requires organisations that control data to register with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) website www.ico.org.uk 

The organisation is registered with the ICO as a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 2018. The registration number is Z7046375 and can be viewed online in the public register at http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed by the Organisation please contact us at: –

Northern Moor Medical Practice

216 Wythenshawe Road, Northern Moor, Manchester M23 0PH

If you are still unhappy following a review by the Organisation you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via their website www.ico.org.uk

or in writing to: –

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

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 us.

• Let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number. A mobile number is always useful!
• Be punctual for your appointment.
• Cancel an appointment if you cannot keep it or let us know if you will be late. We can sometimes fill appointments at short notice.
• Violence and/or aggression towards staff or other people at the surgery will not be tolerated and may result in your removal from the practice list.

Northern Moor Medical Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff is treated in an abusive or violent way.

The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance‘ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place.

Our Practice staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understands that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

• Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
• Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
• Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
• Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
• We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.

The Legal Position

As a responsible employer, the Practice has a duty as a provider of NHS healthcare to protect the health, safety and welfare of staff under the Health & Safety at Work Act. This includes a risk assessment of violence towards staff and taking steps to mitigate this under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Staff members who are victims of violent conduct or assault have the right to sue their employers for compensation if the risk of violence could have been reduced or removed completely, but the employers did not act upon this information.

Examples of security issues:

• Security of grounds and car parking
• Security of premises – incl. storage, “out of hours”
• CCTV
• Cash and staff – storing, handling and transferring
• Security Systems
• Security of equipment – medical devices, computers
• Communication of national security alerts
• Information records
• Contingency planning.
• Security of employees
• Staff working on their own
• (Staff can be lone workers when making domiciliary visits or within a hospital department e.g. out of hours)

This list is not exhaustive.

Violence at Work

The practice acknowledges that there may be instances where violence and / or aggression forms part of a patient’s illness. In these circumstances, the issue will be discussed with the patient and form part of their care planning.

This information will be recorded in the patient’s medical record and flagged to ensure that members of staff are aware. In addition, where deemed necessary, appropriate support will be put in place, e.g. staff members do not see the patient alone.

Definition of Physical and Verbal Abuse and Violence:

Physical and verbal abuse includes:

• Unreasonable and / or offensive remarks or behaviour / rude gestures / innuendoes
• Racial harassment
• Sexual harassment
• Any form of abuse under the Equality Act 2010; to include, but not limited to: homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ageism or harassment or abuse on the basis of disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief
• Threatening behaviour (with or without a weapon)
• Actual physical assault (whether or not it results in actual injury) includes being pushed or shoved as well as being hit, punched or attacked with a weapon, or being intentionally struck with bodily fluids or excrement.
• Attacks on partners, members of staff or the public
• Discrimination of any kind
• Damage to an employee’s or employer’s property

The Practice supports the Zero Tolerance stance adopted by the NHS.

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) defines work-related violence as:
“Any incident, in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work”.

Violence and aggression towards a person may also be defined as:
“A physical contact with another person which may or may not result in pain or injury. The contact is uninvited and is an attempt to cause harm, injury or to intimidate. Non-physical aggression includes the use of language which causes offence or threatens the safety of a member of staff”.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the practice will also undertake the following measures to ensure a safe work environment:

• Carry our risk assessments to assess and review the duties of employees, identifying any “at risk” situations and taking appropriate steps to reduce or remove the risk to employees, particularly if they are working alone.
• Assess and review the layout of the premises to reduce the risk to employees where physically possible.
• Assess and review the provision of personal safety equipment, such as alarms.
• Develop surgery policies, procedures and guidelines for dealing with physical and verbal abuse.
• Provide support and counselling for victims, or refer to suitably qualified health professionals.
• Make employees aware of risks and ensure employee involvement in suitable training courses.
• Record any incidents on a Significant Event form and take any remedial action to ensure similar incidents are prevented in future.

Removal from the Practice List

The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. We value and respect good patient-doctor relationships based on mutual respect and trust. When trust has irretrievably broken down, the practice will consider all factors before removing a patient from their list, and communicate to them that it is in the patient’s best interest that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is in the case of immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household
Because of the possible need to visit patients at home, it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household to ensure the safety of practice staff.
The prospect of visiting patients that is the residence of a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice, or the risk of being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is more likely where the removed patient has been violent or displayed threatening behaviour, and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.