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.
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.
NHS staff should be able to come to work without fear of violence, abuse or harassment from patients or their relatives.
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.
It is our policy to be helpful and polite to all our patients regardless of age, ethnic origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation. We expect the same courtesy from our patients. Discriminatory, unsocial, threatening, violent or abusive behaviour towards staff, other patients or the premises will not be tolerated. The Practice will take action in these circumstances, which may involve the Police and result in the removal of the patient from our Practice list.
In England, please refer to NHS Constitution your rights and responsibilities for further information.
Patients are reminded that if they are found posting any derogatory, defamatory, 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 proactive in reporting any incidents of this nature to the Practice Manager.
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.
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.
To assist our Team in providing our patients with care of a consistent quality we will:
To provide our patients with a Team that provides care of a consistent quality we will:
As part of the NHS commitment to providing more personalised care, from June 2015 all practices are required to provide all their Patients with a named GP who will have overall responsibility for the care and support that our surgery provides.
You do not need to take any further action, but if you have any questions or wish to know your named GP, please speak to a member of the reception team.
This is largely a role of oversight, with the requirements being introduced to reassure patients that they have one GP within the practice who is responsible for ensuring that this work is carried out on their behalf.
This is unchanged from 2014-2015; for patients aged 75 and over the named accountable GP is responsible for:
Does the requirement mean 24-hour responsibility for patients? No. The named GP will not:
In the first instance, patients should simply be allocated a named GP. However, if a patient requests a particular GP, reasonable efforts should be made to accommodate their preference, recognising that there are occasions when the practice may not feel the patient’s preference is suitable.
Do patients have to see the named GP when they book an appointment with the practice?
No. Patients can and should feel free to choose to see any GP or nurse in the practice in line with current arrangements. However, some practices may see this change as a way to encourage and promote a greater degree of continuity of care for patients.
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:
Discrimination by the Practice or Visitors / patients against you
If you feel discriminated against:
The Practice will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment of our staff by any visitor. Any visitor who expresses any form of discrimination against or harassment of any member of our staff will be required to leave the Practice premises immediately. If the visitor is a patient they may also, at the discretion of the Practice Management, be removed from the Practice list if any such behaviour occurs.
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 shown below for further information.
This Policy is designed to protect both patients and staff from abuse or allegations of abuse, and to assist patients in making an informed choice about their examinations and consultations.
Clinicians (male and female) will consider whether an intimate or personal examination of the patient (either male or female) is justified, or whether the nature of the consultation poses a risk of misunderstanding.
The above guidelines are to remove the potential for misunderstanding. However, there will still be times when either the Clinician, or the patient, feels uncomfortable, and it would then be appropriate to consider using a Chaperone.
Patients who request a Chaperone will never be examined without a Chaperone being present. If necessary, where a Chaperone is not available, the consultation/examination will be rearranged for a mutually convenient time when a Chaperone can be present.
Complaints and claims have not been limited to Doctors treating/examining patients of the opposite gender – there are many examples of alleged assault by female and male doctors on people of the same gender.
Consideration will always be given by staff to the possibility of a malicious accusation by a patient, and a Chaperone organised if there is any potential for this.
There may be occasions when a Chaperone is needed for a home visit in which case the following procedure will be followed.
A variety of people can act as a Chaperone in the practice, but staff undertaking a formal Chaperone role will have been trained in the competencies required. Where possible, Chaperones will be clinical staff familiar with procedural aspects of personal examination.
Where the Practice determines that non-clinical staff will act in this capacity, the patient will be asked to agree to the presence of a non-Clinician in the examination, and for confirmation that they are at ease with this. The staff member will be trained in the procedural aspects of personal examinations, be comfortable acting in the role of Chaperone, and be confident in the scope and extent of their role. They will also have received instruction on where to sit/stand and what to watch and listen for.
A Chaperone will document in the patient notes that they were present, and detail any issues arising.
The standard aims to make sure our patients, or their carers, with a disability, sensory loss or impairment are provided with information they can easily read or understand with support, for example large print, so they can communicate effectively with health and social care services.
If you have any information or communication support needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss please let us know.