• • 1. We aim to deliver excellent clinical care.

     

    2. We will treat you with respect and in return, you should treat the practice team respectfully.

     

    3. We will at all times have to deal with unexpected emergencies and we ask that you be understanding in the event of there being a delay.

     

    4. We will not tolerate verbal or physical abuse and this may result in you being asked to register at another practice.

     

    5. We listen and respond to our patients’ complaints and suggestions.

     

    6. If you are unable to attend your appointment you are expected to cancel.

     

    7. If you frequently miss your appointments without explanation, we will contact you to discuss the matter further.

     

    8. If your health genuinely prevents you from leaving your house you can request a GP visit. Home visits are very time consuming for the doctors. They may telephone you before deciding if you need to be visited. If you are NOT housebound, please book an appointment at the practice.

     

    9. We operate a completely confidential service and will only share your details with health professionals involved in your care, unless you give us written permission to do otherwise.

     

    10. We are unable to share with you any information regarding other patients even if they are family members.

     

    11. All patients have the right to express a preference of practitioner and the means of expressing such a preference.

Confidentiality

• All staff are bound by strict rules of confidentiality.  We are a computerised practice and registered under the General Data Protection Regulations 2018.
• No patient information is divulged to any person outside the practice team other than a person dealing with patient care, e.g. Consultant.
• Occasionally we have members of an outside agency visiting the practice or requesting patient information.  It is mandatory that they read and sign the Practice Caldicott Code of Confidentiality.
• Care is always taken by our staff to retain patient confidentiality during telephone conversations with outside agencies.
• Click here for more information on how we use your data.
  

• This surgery has a zero tolerance to inappropriate behaviour.
• Incidents of physical or verbal abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported to the Practice Manager and discussed with the Doctors.
• The surgery reserves the right to remove from their list any patient who acts in an aggressive or violent manner.
• Violence includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse leading to a fear for a person’s safety.
• If felt appropriate, such instances will be referred to the police and/or the Local Health Board.
• As a result, registration at this practice may be terminated and such patients will need to apply for registration at an alternative surgery, or other provider as deemed appropriate.

Freedom Of Information Act

As a patient you have the right to have access to your medical records, subject to any limitations in the law, and know that those working for the NHS are under a legal duty to keep their records confidential.

ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF PATIENT DATA PROTOCOL
GP to GP Record Transfers
NHS Wales require practices to utilise the GP2GP facility for the transfer of patient records between practices, when a patient registers or de-registers (not for temporary registration).
It is very important that you are registered with a doctor at all times. If you leave your GP and register with a new GP, your medical records will be removed from your previous doctor and forwarded on to your new GP via NHS Wales. It can take your paper records up to two weeks to reach your new surgery.
With GP to GP, your electronic record is transferred to your new practice much sooner.
The Partners confirm that GP to GP transfers are already active and we send and receive patient records via this system.

Things go wrong even in the best run organisations.  We hope there will not be many complaints, but if you feel something is going wrong, or could be done better, we want to know.  In our experience most problems between medical staff and their patients are due to poor communication.  If you have a problem, please write to our Practice Manager, Debbie Smithson.

Patients wishing to raise a concern in relation to any aspect of their care should contact Debbie Smithson.  The senior partner would normally deal with concerns of a clinical nature.  The practice manager will address concerns relating to administrative issues.  The practice follows local and national guidelines on dealing with concerns.

A suggestion box is available in the waiting room for patients to post their comments or ideas in.  Our practice manager welcomes your comments for improvement and is glad to hear from the patients’ perspective.  These suggestions will be discussed with all the staff.

Raising a Concern about NHS Services in Wales

From 1 April 2011, the way in which NHS organisations’ in Wales deal with complaints, claims and incidents (collectively known as `concerns’) is changing. These new arrangements will be called “Putting Things Right” and will require a different approach to dealing with concerns.  Practice staff are trained to give support and encourage the sorting out of problems as they arise and being open if something has gone wrong.

For further information on how to raise a concern, you can contact the concerns team at Hywel Dda University Health Board by:

Phoning:  0300 0200 159

Emailing:  hdhb.patientsupportservices@wales.nhs.uk 

Writing a letter to: FREEPOST FEEDBACK@HYWEL DDA 

Texting: 07891 142240

Alternatively, if you are not happy with the outcome of your concern, you can contact the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Phone: 0300 790 0203

Email: www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk

Address: 1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae, Pencoed, CF35  5LJ

If you need more advice and support, you can contact Hywel Dda Community Health Council, Suite 5, First Floor, Ty Myrddin, Old Station Road, Carmarthen, SA311BT. 

Tel: 01646 697610 (option 3)

 email: hyweldda@waleschc.org.uk

Website: www.communityhealthcouncils.org.uk/hyweldda/