Practice Policies & Patient Information
Accountable GP
Practices are required to allocate all patients (including children) with a named accountable GP.
The named GP is responsible for the coordination and delivery of all appropriate services, where required based on clinical judgement, to each of their patients.
- Patients do not need to see their named GP when they book an appointment with the practice.
- Patients are entitled to choose to see any GP or nurse in the practice.
Chaperone Policy
We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.
You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.
Confidentiality
You can be assured that anything you discuss with any member of the surgery staff, whether doctor, nurse or receptionist, will remain confidential. Even if you are under 16, no information will be disclosed to anyone, including parents, other family members, care workers or teachers, without your permission. The only reason why we might want to consider passing on confidential information without your permission would be to protect either you or someone else from serious harm. In this situation, we would always try to discuss this with you first.
If you have any worries or queries about confidentiality, please ask a member of staff.
If you would like to discuss matters of a confidential nature, either with our receptionists or a member of the staff, we have a side room available in reception for this purpose.
Data Protection Policy
We need to hold personal information regarding our patients on our computer systems and in paper records in order to help us look after your health needs. Your Doctor is responsible for their accuracy and safe-keeping. Please help to keep your record up to date by informing us any changes to your circumstances.
Doctors and staff in the Practice have access to your medical records to enable them to do their jobs. From time to time, information may be shared with others involved in your care if it is necessary. Anyone with access to your record is properly trained in confidentiality issues and is governed by both legal and contractual duty to keep your details private.
All information about you is held securely and appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent accidental loss.
In some circumstances we may be required by law to release your details to statutory or other official bodies, for example if a court order is presented, or in the case of public health issues. In other circumstance you may be required to give written consent before information is released – such as for medical reports for insurance, solicitors etc.
To ensure your privacy, we will not disclose information over the telephone unless we are sure that we are talking to you. Information will not be disclosed to family, friends or spouses unless we have prior written consent, and we do not, leave messages with others.
You have a right to see your records if you wish. Please ask at reception if you would like further details about our patient information leaflet. An appointment may be required. In some circumstances a fee may be payable. Please find below full policy below:
Final Data Protection Privacy Notice
NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme – Xyla Health and Wellbeing
NHS England has commissioned a provider, Xyla Health and Wellbeing, to provide the ‘Your local Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme’ for patients at risk of type 2 diabetes. Once a patient is referred, they will be contacted for a motivational interview with the provider (Xyla) to help them enrol onto the course and to have an opportunity to ask any questions they have at this time, including if you don’t want to enrol in the programme.
Xyla Health and Wellbeing is part of the Acacium Group and sometimes, if required and legally allowed, Xyla may share some of your basic details such as your name and contact details with providers who have been identified as suitable to contact you to provide support for you during this programme.
Any sharing of your data is done as little as possible, under due diligence and in compliance with applicable laws.
For full details on how Xyla would use your data for the diabetes prevention programme, see their privacy notice at: https://preventing-diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-prevention-privacy-policy/
For general information on the national diabetes prevention programme, please visit the NHS England website on this at: https://preventing-diabetes.co.uk/
GP Earnings
All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each Practice. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the Practice and should not be used to for any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparisons with other Practices.
The average pay for GPs working at Kingsnorth Medical Practice in the last financial year was £76,788 before tax and national insurance. This is for 4 full time GPs, 7 part time GPs and 0 locum GPs who worked in the Practice for more than 6 months.
IT Policy
This practice is committed to preserving, as far as is practical, the security of data used by our information systems. This means that we will take all reasonable actions to;
Maintain the Confidentiality of all data within the practice by:
- Ensuring that only authorised persons can gain access to our systems
- Not disclosing information to anyone who has no right to see it
Maintain the integrity of all data within the practice by:
- Taking care over input
- Ensuring that all changes are reported and monitored
- Checking that the correct record is on the screen before updating
- Reporting all apparent errors and ensuring that they are resolved
Maintain the availability of all data by:
- Ensuring that all equipment is protected from intruders
- Ensuring that backups are taken at regular, predetermined intervals
- Ensuring that contingency is provided for possible failure or equipment theft and that any such contingency plans are tested and kept up to date
Additionally we will take all reasonable measures to comply with our legal responsibilities under:
Personal Data
The following IT systems are in use at the practice:
- Electronic Referral System (the use of NHS numbers in referrals)
- Electronic Appointment Booking (the facility to book routine appointments online and, similarly, to cancel appointments
- Online booking of repeat prescriptions
- Summary Care Record (uploading details of your current medication and allergies to the national “spine” so that these are available for doctors involved in your care elsewhere)
- GP to GP transfers (the electronic transfer of records from Practice to Practice when you register at a new Practice)
- Patient Access to records (the facility to view your medical records online)
If you would like access to your medical records enabled or would like to opt out of the local or national summary care record, please contact reception.
Privacy Policy
Introduction
This Privacy Notice has been written in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016, Data Protection Act 2018.
What is this Privacy Notice about?
Privacy Notice is the conditions which have to be met for any activity involving personal data or special categories of personal data to be lawful. Being transparent and providing accessible information to individuals about how an organisation will use their personal information is a key element of data protection legislations. The most common way to provide this information is in a Privacy Notice.
This Privacy Notice tells you about information we collect and hold about you, the legal bases for collecting and holding the information, what we do with it, how we keep it secure (confidential), who we might share it with and what your rights are in relation to your information.
Who we are
Kingsnorth Medical Practice is a General Practitioners who offer primary care services. Kingsnorth Medical Practice also offer enhanced services:
- Paediatric ENT
- Gynaecology
- Vasectomy
- Musculoskeletal
- Ultrasound
- Physiotherapy
Types of information we use
We use the following types of information/data:
- Personal data or sensitive personal/special categories of personal data such as:
- demographics – name, address, date of birth, postcode, NHS number
- racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, medical/health data, sexual life or sexual orientation data.
- Pseudonymised – about individuals but with identifying details (such as name or NHS number) replaced with a unique code.
- Anonymised – about individuals but with identifying details removed.
- Aggregated – anonymised information grouped together so that it doesn’t identify individuals.
What we use your personal data for and special categories of personal data (known as or sensitive personal)
We use and share information about you in a number of ways. These include:
Primary uses – information from your GP medical record which can be made available to other NHS and public sector organisations, including doctors, nurses and care professionals in order to help them make the best informed decision, and provide you with the best possible direct care delivery.
Secondary uses – information from your GP medical record involves extracting identifiable data and (usually) sharing that data with other NHS organisations, for the purpose of indirect care. Examples include using your information for research, auditing, and healthcare planning (population health management).
Our identity and contact details
Kingsnorth Medical Practice,
Ashford Road,
Kingsnorth,
Ashford,
Kent,
TN23 3ED
Practice Manager: Sharon Young
Our Data Protection Officer
Pamela Ashe, GP Data Protection Officer (DPO),
Information Governance Team,
Corporate Services Directorate,
NHS Kent and Medway ICB
Website: Home :: NHS Kent and Medway (icb.nhs.uk)
Email: kmicb.gpdpoteam@nhs.net
Organisations with whom we share your personal information
We share information about you with other GPs, NHS acute or mental health Trusts, local authority, community health providers, pharmacists, commissioning organisations, medical research organisations and some specific non NHS organisations for the purposes of direct and indirect care delivery of care.
We are required under the law to provide you with the following information:
- How we process your personal data;
- the purpose of processing;
- recipient/categories of your personal data;
- the identity of our Data Protection Office;
- how long we retain personal information about you;
- the lawful bases for the sharing/processing and,
- your rights – to view, request access copies of your personal information, or object to the processing.
What is EMIS Systems or Vision System Local Record Sharing?
Your GP medical record is held on our secure clinical system called EMIS Web. This clinical system allows for local record sharing with other healthcare providers who are commissioned in your area to provide care (e.g. acute hospitals, mental and community health). Through this record sharing, clinicians are able to see clinical information entered by other organisations who are party to the EMIS Web local record sharing agreement.
This local sharing is used to provide direct patient care for services such as continued extended access, home visits, universal offers, musculoskeletal service, GP at front door and other neighbourhood services across East Kent in line the local Care delivery strategy and the NHS STP.
It also enables specific GPs identify their patients with highly complex, multiple morbidity and/or frailty, who might benefit from targeted multi-disciplinary team support as part of case management and care planning (the “Case Finding Purpose”).
How will my information be made available?
The information is accessed in real time and on-demand, meaning that data from your GP record is neither extracted, nor uploaded, nor sent anywhere. The data remains within your GP EMIS database and users are allowed read-view access only. If you have any concerns regarding EMIS local record sharing you can opt out by speaking to your GP Surgery.
What do we use anonymised data for?
We use anonymised data to plan health care services. Specifically we use it to:
- check the quality and efficiency of the health services we provide;
- prepare performance reports on the services we provide and,
- review the healthcare we provide in order they are of the highest standard.
Details of data linkage with other datasets
Data may be de-identified and linked so that it can be used to improve health care and development and monitor NHS performance. Where data is used for these statistical purposes, stringent measures are taken to ensure individual patients cannot be identified.
When analysing current health services and proposals for developing future services it is sometimes necessary to link separate individual datasets to be able to produce a comprehensive evaluation. This may involve linking primary care GP data with other data such as secondary uses service (SUS) data (inpatient, outpatient and A&E). In some cases there may also be a need to link local datasets which could include a range of acute-based services such as radiology, physiotherapy, audiology etc, as well as mental health and community-based services such as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), community nursing, podiatry etc. When carrying out this analysis, the linkage of these datasets is always done using a unique identifier that does not reveal a person’s identity.
The organisation responsible for processing de-identified and linked data under this category, on behalf of Kingsnorth Medical Practice is Kent and Medway ICB. We ensure that the data processor is legally and contractually bound to operate and prove security arrangements are in place where data that could or does identify a person are processed.
What safeguards are in place to ensure data that identifies me is secure?
We only use information that may identify you in accordance with the GDPR 2016 and DPA 2018. These legislations require us to process your data only if there is a lawful basis for doing so and that any processing must be fair, lawful and transparent.
We also ensure the information we hold is kept in secure locations, restrict access to information to authorised personnel only, protect personal and confidential information held on equipment such as laptops with encryption (which masks data so that unauthorised users cannot see or make sense of it).
Our appropriate technical and security measures include:
- The ability to ensure ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of our systems;
- the ability to quickly restore availability and access to personal information in the event of a physical or technical incident; and
- a process regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of security measures, and ensure they comply with the concept of privacy by design and default.
The NHS Digital Code of Practice on Confidential Information applies to all of our staff, and they are required to protect your information, inform you of how your information will be used, and allow you to decide if and how your information can be shared. All Practice staff are trained to ensure information is kept confidential.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller and collects data for a variety of purposes. A copy of the registration is available through the ICO website. You can search by our Practice name, Kingsnorth Medical Practice or ICO Data Protection Register number Z8962318.
What are your rights?
Where information from which you can be identified is held, you have the:
- Right of access to view or request copies of the records
- Right to rectification of inaccurate personal data or special categories of personal data
- Right to restriction of the processing of your data where accuracy of the data is contested, processing is unlawful or where we no longer need the data for the purposes of the processing
- Right to object to any automated individual decision-making
- Right to data portability by requesting the data which you provided to us (not data generated by us) in a structured, commonly used machine readable format. Your right to portability applies only where:
- data is processed by automated means, and
- you provided consent to the processing or,
- the processing is necessary for the fulfilment of a contract
These rights will only apply where we cannot demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for continued processing of your personal data for the purposes of direct provision of care, and compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.
Your right to erasure (right to be forgotten) will only apply where you had given ‘consent’ to process your personal health data and later withdrew the consent, and does not apply to the extent where the processing of your personal health data is necessary for:
- Compliance with a legal obligation which we are subject to, under the UK law or, for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or, in the exercise of official authority vested on us;
- medical purposes and/or for reasons of public interest in the area of public health;
- archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes;
- the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
You can exercise your rights at any time by contacting Kingsnorth Medical Practice (Data Controller) or the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at the address below, although we will first need to explain how this may affect the care you receive and any overriding legitimate grounds for the processing that may apply.
Gaining access to the data we hold about you
You have the right to see or have a copy of personal data we hold that can identify you. You do not need to give a reason to see your data. However, some information may be withheld under some exceptional circumstances.
If you want to access your personal information you must do so in writing by emailing edn.g82730@nhs.net and heading your request ‘SAR Request’ or writing to the Practice at:
Medical Records Administrator
Kingsnorth Medical Practice,
Ashford Road,
Kingsnorth,
Ashford,
Kent,
TN23 3ED
What is the right to know?
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives people a general right of access to information held by or on behalf of public authorities, promoting a culture of openness and accountability across the public sector.
What sort of information can I request?
In theory, you can request any information that Kingsnorth Medical Practice holds that does not fall under an exemption under the FOI Act. You may not ask for information that is covered by the Data Protection Act or EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) under FOIA. However, you can request this under a Subject Access Request – see section above ‘Gaining access to the data we hold about you’.
How do I make a request for information?
Your request must be in writing and can be either posted or emailed to:
Email: edn.g82730@nhs.net – please include ‘FOI Request‘ in the heading of your email.
Post: The Practice Manager,
Kingsnorth Medical Practice,
Ashford Road,
Kingsnorth,
Ashford,
Kent,
TN23 3ED
Glossary of Terms
Common Law of Duty of Confidentiality – is not written out in one document like the GDPR or an Act of Parliament. Common Law is also referred to as ‘judge-made’ or case law. In practice, this means that all patient/client information, whether held on paper, computer, visually or audio recorded, or held in the memory of the professional, must not normally be disclosed without the consent of the patient/client. However, where the disclosure/sharing of the patient/client information is for the purpose of Direct Care consent to such disclosure/sharing may be implied where it is informed, given there is a legitimate relationship between the patient/client and the health professional.
Personal Data – means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
Special Categories of Personal Data – data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.
Please view the full Data Protection Privacy Notice.
ACR Project for Patients with Diabetes
The data is being processed for the purpose of delivery of a programme, sponsored by NHS Digital, to monitor urine for indications of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which is recommended to be undertaken annually for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease e.g., patients living with diabetes.
The programme enables patients to test their kidney function from home. We will share your contact details with Healthy.io to enable them to contact you and confirm that you wish them to send you a test kit. This will help identify patients at risk of kidney disease and help us agree any early interventions that can be put in place for the benefit of your care. Healthy.io will only use your data for the purposes of delivering their service to you.
If you do not wish to receive a home test kit from Healthy.io we will continue to manage your care within the Practice. Healthy.io are required to hold data we send them in line with retention periods outlined in the Records Management code of Practice for Health and Social Care. Further information about this is available here.
Suggestions & Complaints
Want to make a suggestion to the practice?
Your comments and suggestions are important to us, please click on the link below, complete and return the form to us. Please only use this form for comments about the practice and suggestions as to how we can improve our services.
Medical matters and official complaints cannot be dealt with via this form. If you have a query regarding a medical matter please telephone reception to make an appointment to see the appropriate person.
Please see the attached Policy for further information: KMP Compliments Comments Concerns Complaints Policy
Want to make a complaint?
We make every effort to give the best possible service to everyone who attends our practice.
We are aware, however, that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is the case, we would wish for the matter to be settled amicably and as quickly as possible.
Most problems can be sorted out at the time they arise and with the person concerned, without the need to raise a formal complaint. In the first instance, we would ask you to give us the opportunity to resolve your problem by telephoning the Practice.
How to complain
If you wish to make a formal complaint, it would be helpful if you would let us know as soon as possible as this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.
Formal complaints should be addressed to our Complaints Manager.
What we will do
- We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days.
- Provide an indication of the timescale for the investigation and resolution of the complaint.
- During the investigation we may need to seek the opinion of our clinical staff involved in your care and find out what has happened.
- If we cannot resolve the complaint within the timescales given, we will keep you informed of any delays and provide the reason.
- We will make sure that you receive an apology where it is appropriate.
Please download a copy of our complaints policy: Kingsnorth Medical Practice Complaints Policy
Summary Care Record
Your patient record is held securely and confidentially on the electronic system at your GP practice. If you require treatment in another NHS healthcare setting such as an Emergency Department or Minor Injury Unit, those treating you would be better able to give you appropriate care if some of the information from the GP practice were available to them.
This information can now be shared electronically via: The Summary Care Record, used nationally across England
The information will be used only by authorised health care professionals directly involved in your care. Your permission will be asked before the information is accessed, unless the clinician is unable to ask you and there is a clinical reason for access.
If you wish to opt out of your data being shared, please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/ or ask reception for our opt out form.
A parent or guardian can request to opt out children under 16 but ultimately it is the GP’s decision whether to create the records or not, because of their duty of care to the child. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 and feel that they are able to understand, then you should make this information available to them.
Who Has Access?
Across all health care settings, including urgent care, community care and outpatient departments in England.
Information Source
GP record
Content
- Your current medications
- Any allergies you have
- Any bad reactions you have had to medicines
- Additional information (upon request to your GP)
For more information visit:
Training
GPs in Training
Our practice is approved to train fully qualified doctors who wish to specialise in general practice. Our GP registrar will have had 2-4 years of experience as a qualified hospital doctor working in various specialities. They consult patients on their own, under the mentorship of our trainers.
Occasionally we ask permission to video a consultation. You will always be asked in advance and are given the option not to take part, and this will not affect your care in any way. No recording will be taken without your consent and the camera will be switched off on request. These videos are used only for educational purposes with the doctor doing the consultation and are destroyed after use.
Medical Students
Medical students are sometimes attached to the practice for 2 – 3 weeks as part of their training. If you do not wish a student to be present during your consultation, please inform the receptionist.
Your Data
Your GP Practice is committed to operating in a way that complies fully with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We recognise that the personal data legitimately required in order to carry out our business must be collected, processed, stored and disposed of fairly, lawfully and with due regard to confidentiality. We fully respects your privacy.
If you have any questions about your data or how we deal with it please contact the practice and get in touch with us.
Zero Tolerance 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.
This Policy is for the protection of all NHS staff but also for the protection of other patients, their families, visitors, etc.
In order to ensure that this zero tolerance approach is adhered to, it is essential to have robust policies and procedures in place. In General Practice, this will need to cover a variety of situations in which incidents could occur. Generally speaking the majority of patients behave in acceptable or manageable ways, however the incidence of excessively aggressive or violent attacks in the GP practice is increasing.
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.
