Making health and social care information accessible

As a surgery we are committed to providing the best care for our patients and this includes making information accessible under the Accessible Information Standard.

All organisations that provide NHS or adult social care must follow the Accessible Information Standard by law. This is explained in Section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012

The Accessible Information Standard aims to make sure that disabled people have access to information that they can understand and any communication support they might need.

The standard tells organisations how to make information accessible to the following people:

• Patients
• Service users
• Their carers and parents.

This includes making sure that people get information in different formats if they need it, such as:

• Large Print
• Braille
• Easy Read
• Via Email
• British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter,
• Deafblind manual interpreter or an Advocate.

To help us help you, please download and complete our accessible information form.

These forms are also available at each reception. Please complete and hand in to any of our receptionists.

This will enable us to record your needs for all future contacts with our surgery.

For more information please follow the link below:

The Accessible Information Standard leaflet (PDF, 283KB)

Or click this link to access information on the Interpreting Service.

We can provide interpreting services in any language covered by Translation and Interpreting Services. This is available for both visits to reception and for consultations with any of the clinical staff. The service also provides a face-to-face interpreting service, using BSL, for the deaf and hard of hearing.

For more information on this service please click the links below

Hounslow Translation and Interpretation Services

List of translation languages provided by Hounslow Translation and Interpretation Service

Background

Non-attendance for GP and nurse appointments has increasingly become a serious problem at the Medical Centre. This situation is not only a huge waste of resources for Doctors and Practice Nurses but also means that many patients have been declined appointments when, in fact, they could have been seen by the medical staff. It also means that waiting times for routine appointments may be longer than we would want, which causes understandable frustration for patients.

The Patient’s Representative Group, as well as the doctors have been most concerned about this problem and have provided posters in the surgery to highlight the issue and request patient’s cooperation. The Medical Centre has also instigated a text-based system that reminds a patient of their appointment at the point of booking and again on the day before the appointment. Sadly these measures have not prevented the problem from growing. It is against this background that the Medical Centre and the Patient’s Representative Group have agreed the following Protocol to deal with the problem.

Monthly Review of Non-attendance

The Practice will review on a monthly basis all cases of non-attendance where the patient both failed to turn up at the surgery and failed to notify the Medical Centre in advance. The patients in this category will receive an initial standard letter warning them that this behavior is not acceptable and that it may lead them to being removed from the Practice List if repeated.

Repeated Non-attendance

If a patient having been cautioned by a first letter becomes a non-attendee again within 12 months of the initial non-attendance then they will receive a FINAL WARNING letter that will inform them that if they fail to attend an appointment again without prior notice, their registration status at the practice will automatically be reviewed and their removal from the practice list will be considered a serious option.

Review of Registration

If a patient fails to attend an appointment, without prior notice 3 times within a space of 12 months, and has received a FINAL WARNING letter to that effect from the practice, the surgery will review this patients registration status in accordance with this policy then the surgery will review this patients registration. The patient will be invited to the practice to provide any mitigation that can be taken into account as part of the review. There are two possible outcomes:

• The review will result in the automatic removal of the patient from the Patient List if the practice feels the repeated DNA’s are unjustified and despite written warnings the patient has provided no satisfactory explanation for, or has shown no willingness or inclination to improve their attendance at pre-booked appointments. In that case the patient will be formally written to with the outcome of their registration review within 7 days of the removal being decided and rationale that led to the decision. Like any communication pertained to the patient, this letter will be saved in the patients clinical notes. From the removal date onwards the patient will no longer be able to receive primary medical services from The Medical Centre and will have to register with another local practice.
• If the surgery consider that the health, condition or life circumstances of the patient have contributed to their non-attendance, and/ or the mitigating circumstances mean that the patient should not be removed at that time, the patient will remain on the list. The patient will again be formally written to with the outcome of the registration review within 7 days of the review meeting. They will be informed that on this occasion the practice has decided to maintain their registration, but as repeated DNAs are a serious problem for the practice, there attendance will continue to be closely monitored. Again this letter will be saved in the patients clinical notes. If the pattern of non-attendance persists, a further review of their registration will be carried out and removal from the list will be in accordance with this policy.

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the practice team.

Prescriptions and some of the consultation records are run solely on computer. This enables us to analyse various aspects of health care and to produce an annual practice report. In line with the Local Commissioning Group’s initiative your medical information could be shared with other providers whose services you use. HOWEVER, this sharing will only occur with your specific consent sought by the Clinician seeing you at the time. Please note that ALL of your medical records are then available to the Clinician to view. It is within your rights to refuse to consent.

How we use your medical records

Important information for patients

• This practice handles medical records in-line with laws on data protection and confidentiality.
• We share medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment.
• In some circumstances you may be contacted by the Practice about research opportunities which may be of benefit to you.
• We share information when the law requires us to do so, for example, to prevent infectious diseases from spreading or to check the care being provided to you is safe.
• You have the right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide you with care.
• You have the right to object to your information being used for medical research and to plan health services.
• You have the right to be given a copy of your medical record.
• You have the right to have any mistakes corrected and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please see the practice privacy notice on the website or speak to a member of staff for more information about your rights.
• For more information ask at reception for a leaflet

The practice has a designated parking area for disabled patients. This is adjacent to the front entrance. There is also level access available for wheelchairs and a wheelchair accessible WC.