If you feel you would like a chaperone present at your consultation, please inform your doctor or nurse who will be more than happy to arrange this for you.

When things go Wrong!

At Stalham Staithe Surgery we endeavour to provide a first class service at all times. However we accept that sometimes things go wrong and the service we provide falls short of our standards and your expectations.

We would like to assure you that we promote a culture that is open and honest, a policy that applies to all our team irrespective of role.

We would like to make a promise to you that if we make a mistake we will:

• Inform our patients in a timely manner when safety incidents occur that will affect them.
• We will provide a written and truthful account of any incident, giving details of any investigations and enquiries we might have made.
• We will provide a written apology.
• We will provide support if you are affected directly by an incident.

We will be governed by the following principles:

Openness

Enabling concerns and complaints to be raised freely without fear.

Transparency

Allowing information about the truth, about performance and outcomes to be shared with staff, people who use the service, the public and regulators.

Candour

Any person who uses the service and harmed by the provision of a service provider is informed of the fact and an appropriate remedy offered, regardless of whether a complaint has been made or questions asked about it.

Information about the general practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made in writing to the practice manager.

Charges may be levied for hard copies of requested information, multiple copies, or copying onto media such as CD-ROM. Charges will be in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Your Information

Staithe Surgery takes privacy seriously and we want to provide you with information about your rights, who we share your information with and how we keep it secure.

Please use the links below to find more information about the practice and data protection.

• Transparency
• CCTV
• Telephone Recording
• Case Finding (ECLIPSE)
• Information Sharing Norfolk and Waveney
• Provider Processors

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

The average pay for GPs working at Staithe Surgery in the last financial year was £152,253 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs and 3 part time GPs who worked in the Practice for more than six months.

All our patients have been allocated a named GP who has overall responsibility for the care and support that our surgery provides you. If you wish to know who your named GP is, or have any queries regarding this, please telephone us or enquire with reception.

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges.

Examples include the following:

• Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
• Insurance claim forms
• Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
• Private sick notes
• Vaccination certificates

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

If you wish to discuss a matter in private, away from the busy reception area, please inform the receptionist, who will make arrangements for you to talk to a member of the reception or office team in privacy.

You can contact our reception team online.

Staithe Surgery is part of the Primary Care Research Network, therefore takes part in various clinical trials and studies.

A number of clinical practice staff have undertaken training (GCP) to ensure that they are qualified to deliver research within our Primary Care setting.

What is the Primary Care Research Network (PCRN)?

The Primary Care Research Network is part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network and is funded by the Department of Health.

The mission of the NIHR is to maintain a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals, working in world class facilities, conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public.

The PCRN East of England (PCRN EoE) is one of a family of NIHR national research networks working together with the Comprehensive Local Research Networks (CLRN) to provide a wide range of support to the local research community.

Our practice participates in research and works closely with the PCRN EoE, creating more opportunities for more patients to be involved in research should they wish.

By building on and extending partnerships, with university academics and the NHS, research collaboration across the East of England is further strengthened.

The PCRN EoE also helps our practice by supporting us to recruit and take part in clinical studies through their locally based research nurses and network coordinators.

What Does the Primary Care Research Network (PCRN) do?

The Primary Care Research Network are dedicated to providing a world-class infrastructure to conduct clinical research in primary care settings – where the majority of patient / practitioner contacts take place. They work with a wide range of primary care practitioners, including GPs, nurse practitioners, dentists, pharmacists and health visitors, and support high quality research in areas for which primary care has particular responsibility.

These include disease prevention, health promotion, screening and early diagnosis, as well as the management of long-term conditions, such as arthritis and heart disease.

Why they do it

Clinical research is, and has always been, fundamental to the work of the NHS. Only by carrying out research into “what works” can they continually improve treatments for patients, and understand how to focus NHS resources where they will be most effective.

All the research that they support is driven by the priorities of the NHS and the Department of Health, and informed by the views of patients and their carers.

How They do it

They provide researchers with the practical support they need to make clinical studies happen in a primary care setting in the NHS, so that more research takes place, and more patients can take part.

Research can be presented in many different formats:

• Completing a questionnaire
• Requesting the use of your anonymised data
• Taking part in an interview
• Testing new treatments, therapies or devices
• Experiencing new combinations of treatments

Practice Set up

We have been accredited by RCGP as ‘Research Ready’ so we are able to participate in research studies that PCRN EoE offers.

Benefits of being research ready:

• Enables our practice to reflect on our ability and capacity to conduct high quality research
• Provides assurance for study sponsors, governance staff and patients that our practice is up-to-date and compliant with national standards for NHS research
• Provides the practice of awareness of how it can minimise any potential risks for our practice, practice staff and study participants
• Access to Research Ready file which provides a useful reference for the research team and also for the induction and training of new staff in our practice who will be participating in its research activities
• Opportunities to be involved in a wider range of research studies

Join Dementia Research

Join Dementia Research is a national service that makes it easy for anyone to take part in vital dementia research studies. People with dementia or memory problems, their carers and anyone who is interested can sign up.

Only through research will we find new and better ways to prevent, treat, care for and one day beat dementia. Simple register your details and a researcher will be in touch when an appropriate study becomes available. You do not have to take part in any particular studies. It is always your choice whether or not to take part.

Sign up today online at www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk or call Alzheimer’s Research UK on 0300 111 5111, or the Alzheimer’s Society on 0300 222 1122.

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice. Please let us know if we have done well, using our Feedback triage.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint, please contact the practice manager or business manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Please visit our Contact Us page for the practice telephone number.

There is a central NHS computer system called the summary care record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had. Over time it will build to include information about other health issues considered important to your wellbeing.

Why Do I Need a Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.

Who Can See It?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your summary care record.

How Do I Know If I Have One?

Over half of the population of England now have a summary care record. You can find out whether summary care records have come to your area by asking the surgery directly.

Enhanced Summary Care Record

If you wanted to ‘enhance’ your record it would include the following information:

• Significant medical history (past and present)
• Reason for medication
• Anticipatory care information (important in the management of long term conditions)
• Communication preferences
• End of life care information
• Immunisations

You can opt in for an enhanced summary care record at any time.

Children Under The Age Of 16

Patients under 16 years will have an enhanced summary care record created for them unless their GP surgery is advised otherwise. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 then you should make this information available to them if they are old enough to decide for themselves if they want a summary care record.

Whatever you decide, you can change your mind at any time.

If you are a family member or carer of a person and you have concerns that they may not have the mental capability to make this decision, please Contact the Practice.

Do I Have To Have One?

No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete the Summary Care Record Opt Out form.

More Information

For further information please visit the HSCIC Website.

You can register to receive information by text message on your phone regarding appointments and health care.

If you wish to register for this messaging service, please Contact the Practice.

Data Protection Regulations from May 2018 (GDPR)

Under the data protection regulations introduced from 25th May 2018, we continue to contact patients via text messages regarding the delivery of care if they have provided consent to do so.

If practices are sending messages about recommended treatment for the management of a specific health issue, then this is defined as providing appropriate care for patients, not marketing purposes.

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.