Practice Policies
Please see our key statement indicators below that reflect the ethos of our Practice philosophy:
- Quality patient care is our key driving motivation
- The guiding working principle is ‘do today’s work today’
- Consider patients’ requests from their perspective
- We will work collaboratively with other agencies in our locality
- We will seek to be flexible in working arrangements
- We use first names in communicating with all our staff
- Staff views will always be considered / respected
- Staff should be encouraged and supported to develop skills useful for the Practice
Baby Friendly
We are a baby-friendly Practice. You are welcome to breastfeed your baby; please ask a Receptionist if you would like to sit somewhere private.
Chaperones
Our Practice is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times; the safety of everyone is of paramount importance.
All medical consultations, examinations and investigations are potentially distressing. Patients can find examinations, investigations or photography involving the breasts, genitalia or rectum particularly intrusive (these examinations are collectively referred to as ‘intimate examinations’). Consultations involving dimmed lights, the need for patients to undress or intensive periods of being touched may also make a patient feel vulnerable.
Chaperoning is the process of having a third person present during such consultations to provide support, both emotional and sometimes physical, to the patient, to provide practical support to the Doctor as required, and also to protect the Doctor against allegations of improper behaviour during such consultations.
Please refer to our Chaperone Policy for further information.
Clinical Governance
Clinical governance is the system through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care, by creating an environment in which clinical excellence will flourish.
Clinical governance encompasses quality assurance, quality improvement and risk & incident management.
Clinical Research
Clinical Trials help Doctors understand how to treat a particular disease or condition. It may benefit you, or others like you, in the future.
If you take part in a Clinical Trial, you may be one of the first people to benefit from a new treatment.
However, if you do take part you should also be aware that there is a chance that the new treatment turns out to be no better, or worse, than the existing standard treatment.
Consent Protocol
Consent to treatment is the principle that a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination and is generally requested on the basis that an explanation of the required treatment, test or procedure has been received from a Clinician.
Consent from a patient is needed regardless of the procedure, whether it’s a physical examination, organ donation or something else.
The principle of consent is an important part of medical ethics and international human rights law.
Full Consent Protocol
Duty of Candour
We share a common purpose with our partners in health and social care – and that is to provide high quality care and ensure the best possible outcomes for the people who use our services. Promoting improvement is at the heart of what we do.
We endeavour to provide a first class service at all times but sometimes things go wrong and our service may fall below our expected levels.
In order to comply with Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulations 2014) we pledge to:
- Have a culture of openness and honesty at all levels
- Inform patients in a timely manner when safety incidents have occurred which may affect them
- Provide a written and truthful account of the incident, explaining any investigations and enquiries made
- Provide a written apology
- Provide support if you are affected directly by an incident.
Equality and Diversity
Our Policy is designed to ensure and promote equality and inclusion, supporting the ethos and requirements of the Equality Act 2010 for all visitors to our Practice.
We are committed to:
- ensuring that all visitors are treated with dignity and respect
- promoting equality of opportunity between men and women
- not tolerating any discrimination or perceived discrimination against, or harassment of, any visitor for reason of age, sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief
- providing the same treatment and services (including the ability to register with the Practice) to any visitor irrespective of age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, medical condition, religion or belief
- This Policy applies to the general public, including all patients and their families, visitors and contractors
Infection Control
Infection Prevention and Control is the work an organisation does to identify potential risks for spread of infection between patients (and between patients and staff) and to take measures to reduce that risk. The Practice takes its responsibility to do this very seriously.
All staff take responsibility for their own role in this and all staff receive regular training in their role in Infection Prevention and Control.
Quality Assurance
Our Practice aims to provide quality, consistent primary care for all patients. We strive to meet the high standards expected in any clinical setting and we expect all members of our Team to work to these standards to help us achieve our aim.
The policies, systems and processes in place in our Practice reflect our professional and legal responsibilities and follow recognised standards of good practice. We evaluate our Practice on a regular basis, through audit, peer review and patient feedback and monitor the effectiveness of our quality assurance procedures.
Removal of Patients from our list
It is our policy not to remove patients without serious consideration. If a patient has a serious continuing medical condition, removal will be postponed until the patient’s condition stabilises.
Possible grounds for consideration of removal include:
- Physical violence to staff, Doctors or other patients
- Threat of violence to staff, Doctors or other patients
- Abusive or disruptive behaviour including when under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Theft from the Surgery, staff, Doctors or other patients
- Criminal damage to the Surgery
- Dangerous dogs posing a real or potential hazard on home visits
- Altering documents e.g. prescriptions, insurance certificates
- Defamation of Doctors or staff
- Misuse of appointments
- Misuse of home visits
- Moving outwith the area
- Any other breakdown of the bond of trust between Doctor and patient
In some cases we reserve the right to remove other members of the household. We will continue to be responsible for the patient’s medical care for a period of up to 8 days from the date of notification to our local health authority or until the patient registers with another Doctor, whichever is the sooner.
Safeguarding Children
Our Primary Care Team is committed to safeguarding children. The safety and welfare of children who come into contact with our services either directly or indirectly is paramount, and all staff have a responsibility to ensure that Best Practice is followed, including compliance with statutory requirements.
We are committed to a Best Practice which safeguards children and young people irrespective of their background, and which recognises that a child may be abused regardless of their age, gender, religious beliefs, racial origin or ethnic identity, culture, class, disability or sexual orientation.
The Primary Care Team are committed to working within agreed policies and procedures and in partnership with other agencies, to ensure that the risks of harm to a child or young person are minimised. This work may include direct and indirect contact with children, access to patient’s details and communication via email or text message/telephone.
Our Surgery is supported by the CCG who have designated Nurses and Doctors in post who offer professional expertise and advice regarding safeguarding children.
Shared Decision Making
Making decisions about your care with your doctor or nurse (shared decision making)
When you visit your doctor’s surgery you will often find that there are decisions to be made about your health and the treatments that might be available to you. This includes when you are choosing between different types of treatment or different ways of managing any condition(s) you have. When these decisions are made it is important that you are part of that process, so that you are able to come to the best decisions based on what is important to you.
Your doctor/nurse is an expert about health and health care. You are an expert in knowing about yourself, the impact that any conditions have on you, and what is important to you in treating your condition and in your wider life. When you and your doctor/nurse work together to share what you both know, and then use all of that information to come to a decision together, this is called ‘Shared Decision Making’.
Social Media
Patients are reminded that if they are found posting any derogatory, defamotory, or offensive comments on social media directed to the Practice or members of staff on social networking sites, this may result in them being removed from the Practice List. We ask if you have a complaint to please contact the Practice Manager in the first instance. We would be grateful if patients could be pro-active in reporting any incidents of this nature to the Practice Manager.
Unacceptable Actions Policy
We believe that patients have a right to be heard, understood and respected. We work hard to be open and accessible to everyone. Occasionally, the behaviour or actions of individuals using our Practice makes it very difficult for us to deal with their issue or complaint. In a small number of cases the actions of individuals become unacceptable because they involve abuse of our staff or our process. When this happens we have to take action to protect our staff, and must also consider the impact of the individuals behaviour on our ability to do our work and provide a service to others. This Policy explains how we will approach these situations.
Zero Tolerance
The NHS operate a Zero Tolerance Policy with regard to violence and abuse and the Practice has the right to remove violent patients from their 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.
Where patients are disruptive and display aggressive and/or intimidating behaviour and refuse to leave the premises, staff are instructed to dial 999 for Police assistance, and charges may then be brought against these individuals.
