Practice Policies & Patient Information
Chaperone Policy
This policy is designed to protect both patients and staff from abuse or allegations of abuse and to assist patients to make an informed choice about their examinations and consultations.
Complaints Procedure
We do our utmost to provide the best possible service for our Patients however, sometimes things do go wrong.
We fully comply with the NHS Complaints procedures including ‘Listening, Responding and Learning’, keeping you fully informed and supporting you in how to complain or have your complaint reviewed by the Parliamentary & Healthcare Ombudsman.
We have a documented process for handling complaints. Download our Complaints Leaflet. Whilst we hope this won’t be necessary we will respond to complaints however made;
- Verbally, face to face or, on the telephone
- In writing – please address your complaint to the ‘Complaints Manager’, Sara Mayer, Practice Manager.
- Via email
If you have a disability or language difficulty, please let us know so we can help you – additional support is available via the Independent Complaints & Advocacy Service
Our ‘Responsible Person’ is Dr Graham Parker, Partner. Unless we know about problems, we can’t put them right – so, please tell us!
Confidentiality Policy
The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
- To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Equality and Diversity
Archwood Medical Practice is committed to both eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our staff and in relation to our patients and service users.
We will not discriminate on grounds of gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age.
If you feel that we have breached any of the above, please contact the Practice Manager.
GP Earnings
Declaration of GP Earnings 2022/23
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in Archwood Medical Practice in the last financial year was £62,369 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 7 part time GPs.
Infection Control Annual Statement
In line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of practice on prevention and control of infection and its related guidance, this Annual Statement summarises:
- Any infection transmission incidents and any lessons learnt and action taken
- Details of any infection prevention and control (IPC) audits undertaken and any subsequent actions taken arising from these audits
- Details of any issues that may challenge infection prevention and control including risk assessment undertaken and subsequent actions implemented as a result
- Details of staff IPC training
- Details of review and update of IPC policies, procedures and guidance.
Named GP
Since April 2014 all GP practices in England have been required to provide all their patients aged 75 and over with a named GP who will have overall responsibility for their care.
If you are one of our patients in this age group, you will be informed of your named GP on registration or once you turn 75.
We will aim to make your named GP the doctor you see most often who is most familiar to you.
Your named GP will have overall responsibility for the care and support that our surgery provides to you. This does not prevent you from seeing any GP in the practice as you currently do.
Privacy Policy
Privacy Notice
We understand how important it is to keep your personal information safe and secure and we take this very seriously. We have taken steps to make sure your personal information is looked after in the best possible way and we review this regularly. View our Privacy Notice
Website privacy
This website uses https to ensure data is encrypted in transmission. This encryption, known as TLS encryption protocol, allows us to protect your privacy. You can usually verify that the page is encrypted by seeing a small lock symbol in the upper left corner of your browser and the website address is prefixed with https://.
Data storage
All data obtained by us is held and used in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.
Links
This website contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties that run any other websites. Please refer to their own privacy policies for more information.
Access to your personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to ask us to provide you with the information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. If you would like to access a copy of your information, please contact the Practice Manager using the following contact details in the heading above.
Statement Of Purpose
Aims and Objectives of Archwood Medical Practice
To treat all patients and staff with dignity, respect and honesty.
Given the resources made available to us, our purpose is to provide patients who are registered with the practice with high quality healthcare and to seek continuous improvement of the health status of the practice population overall.
We aim to achieve this by developing and maintaining a well-run practice which is responsive to people’s needs and expectations and which reflects whenever possible the latest advances in Primary Health Care.
- Provide a high standard of medical care
- Be committed to our patients needs
- Act with integrity and complete confidentiality
- Be courteous, approachable, friendly and accommodating
- Ensure safe and effective services and environment
- To improve as a patient centred service through decision making and communication
- To maintain our motivated and skilled work teams
- Through monitoring and auditing continue to improve our healthcare services
- Maintain high quality of care through continuous learning and training
- To guide our employees in accordance with diversity and equality
- To ensure effective and robust information governance systems
Premises
Archwood Medical Practice is located in purpose built Health Centre premises located adjacent to Woodley shopping precinct. The Health Centre offers General Practice services, a pharmacy and other patients services.
Archwood has 12 consultation rooms on the first floor where there is also a reception and two waiting areas. There are two administrative rooms on the second floor, a staff room and shared kitchen and meeting room facilities. The Health Centre has a lift, ground floor accessible toilets and emergency equipment. Externally, there is a large car park with dedicated disabled car park parking spaces.
People who will use our services
Our services are available to the anyone living within our practice registration boundaries, which includes Woodley, Bredbury and Romiley.
Regulated activities/services we provide
- Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
- Diagnostic and screening procedures
- Surgical procedures
- Family planning
- Maternity and midwifery services
The name and address of the registered provider
Archwood Medical Practice
Woodley Health Centre
Hyde Road
Woodley
Stockport
Cheshire
SK6 IND
Email: STOCCG.archwoodsurgery@nhs.net
Website: www.archwoodmp.co.uk
Tel :0161 983 5800
Managing Partner: Dr Graham Parker
Violence Policy
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.
Your Health Record
Confidential Records
Archwood Medical Practice has a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you as a registered patient at the practice.
We will only share data that identifies you under the following circumstances:
- With other health care professionals (hospital or community staff) as part of an agreed plan of treatment
- With your explicit consent, e.g. for participation in research studies
- In circumstances where it is in the interests of your health and you are not able to give consent, e.g. if you are unconscious
- Where we are obliged to divulge information under the Health & Social Care Act 2012, e.g. in the case of a national emergency or pandemic
- Where we are required to do so for health service planning purposes and you have not explicitly opted out of having your data shared (see below)
- Please see our Privacy Notice for detailed information (Word document)
We will not discuss your medical affairs even with your close family unless you give us permission to do so. This includes details of appointments you have made. If you would like your partner, parent, son/daughter or carer to be able to speak to us on your behalf, you must tell us beforehand. Please ask our Reception Team for a consent form if you require an ongoing arrangement for sharing consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
Collection of GP Data for Planning and Research
The data held in your GP medical records is shared with other healthcare professionals for the purpose of your individual care. It is also shared with other organisations to support health and care planning and research. Information about your health and care helps the NHS to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. As a practice we are legally required to participate in the sharing of this data, but you can control your personal confidential information. If you do not want your personally identifiable patient data to be shared outside of your GP practice you can ‘opt-out’. This is called a Type 1 Opt-out.
1) Type 1 Opt-out
- A Type 1 Opt Out prevents information being shared outside a GP practice for purposes other than your direct care.
- Who do you notify of your decision to opt out? Please print and sign an Type 1 Opt-out Form and either bring the original to the practice for processing or take a photo of it and email it to us at STOCCG.archwoodsurgery@nhs.net so that we can update your data sharing preferences.
If you have not previously opted out of data sharing, NHS Digital may already hold some of your information. If you do not want this to be shared outside of NHS Digital for purposes beyond your individual care, you will also need to complete a Type 2 Opt-out (now known as National Data Opt-out).
2) Type 2 Opt-out – now known as National Data Opt-out
- A Type 2 Opt-Out/National Data Opt-out prevents information being shared outside NHS Digital for purposes beyond the individual’s direct care. See full current information regarding these opt-outs.
- Who do you notify of your decision to opt out? Type 2 Opt-outs are arranged by NHS Digital. If you are aged 13 or older you can go to Make your choice about sharing data from your health records – NHS (www.nhs.uk) and opt out online.
Other Ways to Make a Choice
If you don’t want to or can’t opt-out online you can also make or change a choice by phone, email or post.
Phone: NHS Digital Contact Centre phone number: 0300 303 5678 – Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays).
Email or letter: Email your opt-out form to enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk or send by post to: National Data Opt Out Contact Centre, NHS Digital, HM Government, 7 and 8 Wellington Place, Leeds LS1 4AP Please note, if you’re a parent or legal guardian and you want to opt your children out, you must complete the opt-out form.
What is Archwood Medical Practice doing to inform patients of this change?
To make sure that as many patients as possible know about the scheme and have the opportunity to make a choice, Archwood Medical Practice are taking the following steps:
- All staff fully aware to support you with any queries you may have
- Information available in the practice
- Information on social media
- Information on website and links above to NHS websites for further information
Summary Care Record (SCR)
Your Summary Care Record is different to the above sharing for secondary uses. Your SCR is used to assist in provision of care for you. Access to SCR information means that care in other settings is safer, reducing the risk of prescribing errors. It also helps avoid delays to urgent care.
At a minimum, the SCR holds important information about;
- current medication
- allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines
- the name, address, date of birth and NHS number of the patient
Additional Information in the SCR, such as details of long-term conditions, significant medical history, or specific communications needs, is now included by default for patients with an SCR, unless they have previously told the NHS that they did not want this information to be shared. There will also be a temporary change to include COVID-19 specific codes in relation to suspected, confirmed, Shielded Patient List and other COVID-19 related information within the Additional Information.
All of our patients who have not chosen to opt out have a Summary Care Record that can be accessed, with the patient’s consent, by hospital and out of hours staff.
You may choose to opt out of having a Summary Care Record. See this website page to help you to decide on the risks and benefits.
If you would like to opt out, please print off and complete the following consent form and return it to the surgery.