Disabled Access

The main entrance to the Practice has a ramp to allow easy access for our disabled patients.

Parking

There is a large pay and display car park directly opposite the Practice which is run by East Devon District Council.

You are very welcome to be accompanied by a trusted friend or relative at your consultation if you wish, and this is all the more important if English is not your first language, or if you feel you might not be able to express what you need clearly to the doctor or nurse.

If you do not have a friend or family to interpret for you please let the practice know when making your appointment and we can arrange for an interpreter to be present with you at your appointment.

In addition, for intimate examinations, you will be offered the choice of having another professional clinician present at the examination. This is called chaperoning. This might not be possible at all times. If we can’t allocate a chaperone when you wish one to be there, then we can reschedule your examination to another time.

Making a complaint

Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time they arise with the person concerned and this may be the approach you try first.

Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:

•  Within 12 months of the incident.

If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care.

You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority.

We are able to provide you with a separate complaints form to register your complaint and this includes a third-party authority form to enable a complaint to be made by someone else. Please ask at reception for this. You can provide this in your own format providing this covers all the necessary aspects.

What we do next

We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.

We will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days, and aim to have looked into the matter within 30 working days. You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so.

When the investigations are complete your complaint will be determined and a final response sent to you.

Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.

The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy  with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it.

Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed.

Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise  details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter.

Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.

We may still need to correspond directly with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome

You have the right to approach the Ombudsman.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

• Telephone: 0345 0154033
• Visit their website

You may also approach PALS for help or advice;

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is based at NHS England.  The South West local area team in Liskeard  will provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns you may have about the care we provide, guiding you through the different services available from the NHS.

• Contact number:  0300 3112233
• E-mail: [email protected]

Devon CCG PALS

• Contact number: 0300 123 1672
• Text: 07789741099
• E-mail: [email protected]t

The practice complaints manager is: Emily Lampitt

The National data opt-out is a service that allows patients to opt out of their confidential patient information being used for research and planning. 

 Your health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information.  This data can be used to help with research and planning.  However, you can choose to stop your confidential patient information being used for this.  You can do this either by following the link or collecting a form from the surgery which once completed you will need to bring back to us.

For more information and to make your choice visit the NHS website

Health and social care services in Devon and Cornwall have developed a system to share patient data efficiently and quickly and, ultimately, improve the care you receive.

This shared system is called the Devon and Cornwall Care Record.

It’s important that anyone treating you has access to your shared record so they have all the information they need to care for you. This applies to your routine appointments and also in urgent situations such as going to A&E, calling 111 or going to an out-of-hours appointment.

It’s also quicker for staff to access a shared record than to try to contact other staff by phone or email.

Only authorised staff can access the Devon and Cornwall Care Record and the information they see is carefully checked so that it relates to their job. Also, systems do not share all your data – just data that services have agreed is necessary to include.

DEVON AND CORNWALL CARE RECORD 

Purpose

This annual statement will be generated each year in JULY in accordance with the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. The report will be published on the practice website and will include the following summary:

• Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our significant event procedure)
• Details of any infection control audits undertaken, and actions undertaken
• Details of any risk assessments undertaken for the prevention and control of infection
• Details of staff training
• Any review and update of policies, procedures, and guidelines

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead

The lead for infection prevention and control at Imperial Medical Practice is Harriet Swarbrick – Lead Practice Nurse

The IPC lead is supported by Kay Douglas – Practice Nurse and Emily Lampitt – Practice Manager.

Infection transmission incidents (significant events)

Significant events involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events.

Positive events are discussed at meetings to allow all staff to be appraised of areas of best practice.

Negative events are managed by the staff member who either identified or was advised of any potential shortcoming. This person will complete a Significant Event Analysis (SEA) form that commences an investigation process to establish what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements.

All significant events are reviewed and discussed at several meetings each month. Any learning points are cascaded to all relevant staff where an action plan, including audits or policy review, may follow.

In the past year there have been 0 significant events raised that related to infection control.  There have also been 0 complaints made regarding cleanliness or infection control.

Infection prevention audit and actions

Regular audits are carried out and a rolling refurbishment programme is in operation to ensure compliance with all standards.

List all internal audits that have been conducted within the previous year. Discuss the implementation of any audit requirements or shortcomings and how staff are involved to promote high standards of IPC:

• IPC Audit : added 2 x wall mounted soap dispensers so that all rooms and toilets had one.
• Hand washing Audit: Ensure everyone up to date with annual blue stream training (mandatory training.)

Detail any projected audit reviews and frequency: above Audits annually.

Risk assessments

Risk assessments are carried out so that any risk is minimised to be as low as reasonably practicable. Additionally, a risk assessment that can identify best practice can be established and then followed.

In the last year, the following risk assessments were carried out/reviewed:

• General IPC risks
• Staffing, new joiners and ongoing training
• COSHH
• Cleaning standards
• Privacy curtain cleaning or changes
• Staff vaccinations
• Infrastructure changes
• Sharps
• Water safety – legionnaires risk assessment carried out regularly due to age of building

Training

In addition to staff being involved in risk assessments and significant events, at Imperial Medical Practice all staff and contractors receive IPC induction training on commencing their post. Thereafter, all staff receive refresher training annually.

Various elements of IPC training in the previous year have been delivered at the following times: Hand Washing – Blue stream (mandatory training), Infection control – Blue Stream (mandatory training)

Policies and procedures

Policies relating to infection prevention and control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually. Additionally, all policies are amended on an ongoing basis as per current advice, guidance, and legislation changes.

Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all staff members at Imperial Medical Practice to be familiar with this statement and their roles and responsibilities under it.

Review

The IPC lead and Practice Manager (PM) Emily Lampitt are responsible for reviewing and producing the annual statement.

This annual statement will be updated on or before August 2025.

Your health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information.  This data can be used to help with research and planning.  However, you can choose to stop your confidential patient information being used for this. 

The national data opt-out was introduced on 25 May 2018 and allows patients to opt-out of their confidential patient information being used for research and planning, in line with the recommendations of the National Data Guardian in her Review of Data Security, Consent and Opt-Outs.

You can find out more information about the national data opt-out and chose to opt-out here:

NATIONAL DATA OPT-OUT

Alternatively, please collect a form from the Practice, which once completed will need to be returned to us for processing.

Average GP Earnings for 2022/23

All GP practices are required to declare the mean net earnings (eg. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice. This is required in the interests of the greater public accountability recognising GP pay is ultimately funded from tax paid by the public.

The average pay for GPs working in Imperial Surgery in the last financial year was £48,542 before tax and national insurance. This is for 0 full time, 7 part time GPs and 0 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

At Imperial Medical Practice we have a Facebook page which provides a range of useful information for our patient population.

Imperial Medical Practice has a duty to maintain patient confidentiality and to safeguard vulnerable patients. You can help us to achieve this by adhering to the code of conduct outlined in this policy.

Patients at Imperial Medical Practice are expected to adhere to the following code of conduct at all times:

• The organisation requires all users of portable devices to use them in a courteous and considerate manner, respecting their fellow patients. Portable devices are not to be used during consultations, except when agreed with your clinician.
• Patients are not permitted to disclose any patient-identifiable information about other patients, unless they have the express consent of that patient.
• Whilst not encouraged, patients may record their consultation but this should be agreed with your clinician. This recording will solely be for your own purpose.
• Patients must not post any material that is inaccurate, fraudulent, harassing, embarrassing, obscene, defamatory or unlawful. Any such posts on the organisation Facebook page will be deleted and the post reported.
• Patients are not permitted to take photographs in the waiting room or areas where other patients are present, nor are photographs of staff permitted to be taken.
• Patients must not post comments on social media that identify any staff.
• Patients are able to leave a review about Imperial Medical Practice. The page will enable the Practice Manager to respond appropriately.
• Defamatory comments about our team are not to be shared on any social media platform. Legal advice will be sought and the appropriate action taken against any patient who posts defamatory comments.

This privacy notice describes the data, the practice holds about you, why we hold it, where and how we store it, how long for and how we protect it. It also tells you about your rights under the Data Protection Legislation and how the law protects you.

Who we are and what do we do?

Contact details

Dr John Moffat – Senior Partner, is a Data Controller for the data we hold about you. We hold your data in order to provide you with health and care.

What is personal data and what data do we use?

Your personal data is any information that can be connected to you personally. If you can be identified from the data, it is personal data. The types of personal data we use and hold about you are:

• Details about you: your name, address, contact number, email address, date of birth, gender and NHS number. We may also hold information about your emergency contact, next of kin and carer.
• Details about your medical care: medical diagnosis, record of treatment received, referrals, history of prescribed medication, results of investigations such as X-rays etc.
• Information provided by you: this includes correspondence relating to feedback, concerns and complaints about the service you have received.
• Relevant information from other healthcare professionals, relatives or those who care for you.

We may also hold the following information about you:

• Religion or other beliefs of a similar nature,
• Family, lifestyle and/or social circumstances,
• Employment details,
• Financial details.

When we collect your mobile number we use it to text you to remind you of appointments. If you no longer wish to receive communication this way, please let a member of staff know who will be able to update your preferences.

When we collect your email address, we use it as an additional way to communicate with you. If you no longer wish to receive communication this way, please let a member of staff know who will be able to update your preferences.

Why do we process your data and what legal basis do we have to process your data?

In order to process your personal data or share your personal data outside of the practice, we need a legal basis to do so. If we process or share special category data, such as health data, we will need an additional legal basis to do so.

We rely upon Article 6(1)(e) (public interest task) and Article 9(2)(h) (health and social care) for most of our processing and sharing, in particular to:

• Provide you with health and care,
• Share data from, or allow access to, your GP record, for healthcare professionals involved in providing you with health and care,
• Receive data from or access your data on other NHS organisation clinical systems,
• Work effectively with other organisations and healthcare professionals who are involved in your care,
• Ensure that your treatment and advice, and the treatment of others is safe and effective,
• Participate in National Screening Programmes,
• Use a computer program to identify patients who might be at risk from certain diseases or unplanned admissions to Hospitals,
• Help NHS England and the practice to conduct clinical audits to ensure you are being provided with safe, high-quality care,
• Support medical research when the law allows us to do so,
• Supply data to help plan and manage services and prevent infectious diseases from spreading.

We rely upon Article 6(1)(d) (vital interest) and Article 9(2)(c) (vital interests) to share information about you with another healthcare professional in a medical emergency.

We rely upon Article 6(1)(e) (public interest task) and Article 9(2)(g) (substantial public interest) to support safeguarding for patients who, for instance, may be particularly vulnerable to protect them from harm or other forms of abuse.

We rely upon Article 6(1)(c) (legal obligation) and Article 9(2)(h) (health and social care) to share your information for mandatory disclosures of information such as public inquiries. The kind of organisations we may be required to share information with may include NHS England, CQC, UK Health Security Agency and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities).

We rely upon Article 6(1)(c) (legal obligation) and Article 9(2)(f) (legal claims) to help us investigate legal claims and if a court orders us to do so.

We rely upon Article 6(1)(a) (consent) and Article 9(2)(a) (explicit consent), in order to:

• Help the practice investigate any feedback, including patient surveys, complaints or concerns you may have about contact with the practice,
• Help manage how we provide you with services from the practice, for example, when you nominate individuals to contact the practice on your behalf,
• Send you our newsletter,
• Contact you if you have signed up to our patient participation group,
• Share your information with third parties, for example, insurance companies and medical research organisations.

We also use anonymised data to plan and improve health care services. Specifically, we use it to:

• Review the care being provided to make sure it is of the highest standard,
• Check the quality and efficiency of the services we provide,
• Prepare performance reports on the services we provide.

Common law duty of confidentiality

Healthcare staff will respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence. We meet the duty of confidentiality under one of the following:

• You have provided us with your explicit consent,
• For direct care, we rely on implied consent,
• We have approval from the Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG),
• We have a legal requirement to collect, share and use the data,
• On a case-by-case basis, we will share information in the public interest.

How do we collect your data?

The practice collects data that you provide when you:

• Receive treatment or care from the practice,
• Contact the practice by telephone (all telephone calls received and made by the practice are recorded), online, via an online triage system or in person,
• Complete a form electronically or in paper,
• Contact the practice via a Social Network
• Visit the practice’s website (if cookies are enabled).

We may also collect data from family members or carers to support your care.

We receive information about you from other providers to ensure that we provide you with effective and comprehensive treatment. These providers may include:

• The GP Practices within the WEB Primary Care Network
• Other GP Practices
• NHS Trusts/Foundation Trusts
• NHS Commissioning Support Units (CSUs)
• Community Services (District Nurses, Rehabilitation Services and Out Of Hours Services)
• Ambulance or emergency services
• Independent contractors such as Pharmacies, Dentists and Opticians
• Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB)
• NHS England
• Local authorities
• Police and Judicial Services
• Educational Services
• NHS 111
• UK Health Security Agency
• Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• Non-NHS health care providers
• Research providers

Who do we share your data with?

In order to deliver and coordinate your health and care, we may sometimes share information with other organisations. We will only ever share information about you if other agencies involved in your care have a genuine need for it. Anyone who receives information from the practice is under a legal duty to keep it confidential and secure.

Please be aware that there may be certain circumstances, such as assisting the police with the investigation of a serious crime, where it may be necessary for the practice to share your personal information with external agencies without your knowledge or consent.

We may share information with the following organisations:

• The GP Practices within WEB Primary Care Network: Imperial Medical Practice, Haldon House Surgery, Woodbury Surgery, Budleigh Salterton Medical Practice, , Rolle Medical Partnership
• Other GP Practices
• NHS Trusts/Foundation Trusts
• Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB)
• NHS Commissioning Support Units
• Community Services (District Nurses, Rehabilitation Services and Out Of Hours Services)
• Ambulance or emergency services
• Child Health Intelligence Information Service (CHIS) on behalf of InHealth Intelligence Ltd
• Independent contractors such as Pharmacies, Dentists and Opticians
• Local authorities
• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
• Police and Judicial Services
• Educational Services
• Fire and Rescue Services
• NHS 111
• The Care Quality Commission, ICO and other regulated auditors
• UK Health Security Agency
• Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• NHS England
• Non-NHS health care providers
• Research providers

In addition to sharing data with the above services, the practice will also use carefully selected third party service providers that process data on behalf of the practice. When we use a third-party service provider, we will always have an appropriate agreement in place to ensure that they keep the data secure, that they do not use or share information other than in accordance with our instructions and that they are operating responsibly to ensure the protection of your data. Examples of functions that may be carried out by third parties includes:

• Organisations that provide IT services & support, including our core clinical systems; systems which manage patient facing services (such as our website and service accessible through the same); data hosting service providers; systems which facilitate video consultation, appointment bookings or electronic prescription services; document management services etc.
• Organisations who are delivering services on behalf of the practice (for example conducting Medicines Management Reviews to ensure that you receive the most appropriate, up to date and cost-effective treatments or supporting practices in offering choices of providers and appointments to patients who are being referred via the NHS E-Referral system).
• Delivery services (for example if we were to arrange for delivery of any medicines to you).
• Payment providers (if for example you were paying for a prescription or a service such as travel vaccinations).

For further information of who we share your personal data with and our third-party processors, please contact the Practice Manager.

Where do we store your data?

We use a number of IT systems and tools to store and process your data, on behalf of the practice. Examples of tools we use include our Core Clinical System (TPP – SystmOne, Joy App, NHSmail, Microsoft 365, eConsult and AccuRx.

For further information on this, please contact the Practice Manager.

GPConnect/Interoperability/Enhanced Data Sharing Module

Summary Care Record (SCR)

NHS England have implemented the SCR which contains information about you; including your name, address, data of birth, NHS number, medication you are taking and any bad reactions to medication that you have had in the past. This information is automatically extracted from your records and uploaded onto a central system.

Many patients who are seen outside of their GP Practice are understandably not able to provide a full account of their care or may not be in a position to do so. The SCR means patients do not have to repeat their medical history at every care setting and the healthcare professional they are seeing is able to access their SCR. The SCR can only be viewed within the NHS on NHS smartcard-controlled screens or by organisations, such as pharmacies, contracted to the NHS.

As well as this basic record, additional information can be added to include further information. However, any additional data will only be uploaded of you specifically request it and with your consent. You can find out more about the SCR here.

National Screening Programmes

The NHS provides national screening programmes so that certain diseases can be detected at early stages. These screening programmes include bowel cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, aortic aneurysms and a diabetic eye screening service.

If you do not wish to receive an invitation to the screening programmes, you can opt out or speak to the practice.

More information on the national screening programmes.

Risk Stratification

Your medical records will be searched by a computer program so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to hospital. This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible.

This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used. Information which identifies you will only be seen by this practice. More information about Risk Stratification

One Devon Dataset

As well as using your data to support the delivery of care to you, your data may be used to help improve the way health and social care is delivered to patients and service users throughout Devon using Population Health Management methods.

We will use a pseudonymised extract (i.e., not identifiable information) which will be sent securely to NHS Devon ICB (Integrated Care Board) and in partnership with the Local Authorities. Data will be used to support the Devon Integrated Care System to improve short-term and medium-term health outcomes for local populations. If you would benefit from some additional care or support, your information will be shared back to the practice, or another local provider involved in your care, so that they can offer you direct care.

If you have previously asked the practice to apply a Type 1 opt-out to your medical records, this will be applied by NHS Devon ICB.

Further information about Population Health Management can be found here:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/what-is-integrated-care/phm/

Further information about the One Devon Dataset can be found here:

https://onedevon.org.uk/our-work/services-and-support/population-health-management/

We will rely on public interest task as the legal basis for processing your data for this purpose. You have a right to object to your information being used in this way. If you wish to discuss this further, please contact the Practice Manager.

Immedicare

For some of our Care Home Residents we share your records using Interoperability/the Enhanced Data Sharing Module with Immedicare so that they are able to provide a virtual clinical support service 24/7 for when you may need to be cared for.

The information being shared can be personal contact details, diagnosis, medications, allergies, and test results. Your records will be treated with the strictest confidence and can only be viewed if you use their service. Further information regarding Immedicare can be found here: https://immedicare.co.uk/privacy-notice/

Research

We’re excited to share news of our partnership with seasoned NIHR CRN (National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network) experts, seamlessly integrated into our practice team. In the pursuit of advancing medical research, these professionals, alongside our practice team, may access your patient record for pre-consented activities. This involves identifying potential eligibility for research opportunities and supporting recruitment and follow-up for clinical trials. This process operates under the lawful bases of Article 6 (public task) and Article 9 (substantial public interest) of the GDPR. Be assured, that your privacy and data security are rigorously safeguarded. This collaboration also supports NIHR and NHS’s pursuit in improving equality to access research. Any eligible individuals will be contacted by the practice, and their consent will be requested before any further processing takes place.

Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD)

This practice contributes to medical research and may send relevant data to CPRD. CPRD collects de-identified patient data from a network of GP practices across the UK. Primary care data is linked to a range of other health related data to provide a longitudinal, representative UK population health dataset.

Further information regarding CPRD can be found here

How long do we hold your data?

We only hold your data for as long as necessary and are required to hold your data in line with the NHS Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016 Retention Schedule.

Further information can be found here.

What rights do you have?

You have various rights under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018:

Right of Access:

You have the right to request access to view or request copies of the personal data, we hold about you; this is known as a Subject Access Request (SAR). In order to request access, you should either write to the practice via letter or electronically requesting an application form.

Please note that you are entitled to a copy of your data that we hold free of charge; however, we are entitled to charge in certain circumstances where the law permits us to do so. We are also entitled to refuse a request, where the law permits us to do so. If we require a fee or are unable to comply with your request, we will notify you within 1 calendar month of your request.

Right to restrict or object the use of your information:

There are certain circumstances in which you can object from your data being shared. Information regarding your rights to opt-out is detailed below

Consent:

If the practice is relying on the consent as the basis for processing your data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Once you have withdrawn your consent, we will stop processing your data for this purpose.

However, this will only apply in circumstances on which we rely on your consent to use your personal data. Please be aware that if you do withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain services to you. If this is the case, we will let you know.

Summary Care Record:

The SCR improves care; however, if you do not want one, you have the right to object to sharing your data or to restrict access to specific elements of your records. This will mean that the information recorded by the practice will not be visible at any other care setting.

If you wish to discuss your options regarding the SCR, please speak to a member of staff at the practice. You can also reinstate your consent at any time by giving your permission to override your previous dissent.

National Screening Programmes:

If you do not wish to receive an invitation to the screening programmes, you can opt out or speak to the practice.

Type 1 Opt-out

You have the right to object to your confidential patient data being shared for purposes beyond your direct care by asking the practice to apply a Type 1 opt-out to your medical records. A type 1 opt-out prevents personal data about you, being extracted from your GP record, and uploaded to any other organisations without your explicit consent. If you wish for a Type 1 opt-out to be applied to your record, please contact the practice.

National Data Opt-out

You have the right to object to your data being shared under the national data opt-out model. The national data opt-out model provides an easy way for you to opt-out of sharing data that identifies you being used or shared for medical research purposes and quality checking or audit purposes.

To opt-out of your identifiable data being shared for medical research or to find out more about your opt-out choices please ask a member of staff or go to NHS Digital’s website.

National Disease Registration Service

The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) is run by NHS England and collects patient data on cancer, congenital anomalies and rare diseases, and provides analysis to support clinical teams, academics, charities and policy makers to help plan and improve treatments and healthcare in England.

Further information regarding the registry and your right to opt-out can be found here

Right to Rectification

You have the right to have any errors or mistakes corrected within your medical records. This applies to matters of fact, not opinion. If the information is of clinical nature, this will need to be reviewed and investigated by the practice. If you wish to have your records amended, please contact the practice.

If your personal information changes, such as your contact address or number, you should notify the practice immediately so that we can update the information on our system. We will also ask you from time to time to confirm the information we hold for you, is correct.

Right to Erasure

The practice is not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct data from your medical record, which the practice is legally bound to retain. Although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the data and contact the practice if you hold a different view.

Right to Complain

Please let us know if you wish to discuss how we have used your personal data, raise a concern, make a complaint or compliment. You can contact us online or speak to the Practice Manager.

Following this, if you are still unhappy with how we have used your data, you can then complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link or call the helpline on 0303 123 1113.

Data outside EEA

We do not send your personal data outside of the EEA (European Economic Area). However, if this is required, the practice would only do so, with your explicit consent.

Data Protection Officer

The Data Protection Officer for the practice is Bex Lovewell and can be contacted via email on [email protected] or by post: Delt Shared Services Limited, BUILDING 2 – Delt, Derriford Business Park, Plymouth, PL6 5QZ.

Cookies

The practice’s website uses cookies. A cookie is a small file, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded on to a device (like your computer or smart phone) when you access certain websites. Cookies allow a website to recognise a user’s device. Some cookies help websites to remember choices you make (e.g., which language you prefer if you use the Google Translate feature). Analytical cookies are to help us measure the number of visitors to our website. The two types of cookies used by the practice are ‘Session’ and ‘Persistent’ cookies.

Some cookies are temporary and disappear when you close your web browser, others may remain on your computer for a set period. We do not knowingly collect or intend to collect any personal information about you using cookies. We do not share your personal information with anyone.

What can I do to manage cookies on my devices?

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit All About Cookies. If you are concerned about cookies and would like to discuss this, please contact the Practice.

Changes to Privacy Notice

The practice reviews this privacy notice regularly and may amend the notice from time to time. If you wish to discuss any elements of this privacy notice, please contact the practice.

Last updated: January 2024.

Read our Children’s Privacy Notice

If have been referred to a specialist you can find out information on waiting times or to gain further information from the hospital please follow this link:

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – My Planned Care NHS

Staff Training

Occasionally between the hours of 12:30pm and 2:00pm we conduct staff training and meetings and our telephones may be switched over to the control team who will support you.

Protected Time for Learning and Team Development

Approximately three times a year the practice will hold a clinical teaching session which are called Quality Half Day. This protected time is used for various updates and training to take place. The practice employs locum GPs for this session to allow all our Practice GPs to attend and to minimise any disruption to patients care.

Emergency cover, as at weekends and evenings, is provided by NHS 111.

How we deal with inaccuracies in your Medical Records

If you would like to dispute the accuracy or have queries regarding the content of your medical records, you may object or opt to have certain entries deleted.

As a patient at the practice, you can apply your UK GDPR rights of:

• Rectification (Article 16 UK GDPR)
• Erasure (Article 17 UK GDPR)
• Restriction of processing (Article 18 UK GDPR)
• Data portability (Article 20 UK GDPR)
• Right to object (Article 21 UK GDPR)

If you would like to request amendments to your records, please contact the Practice with your name, date of birth and queries/ objections with your medical records.

• You can also update basic information on your record

A member of the team will then contact you to investigate further, and the Practice will take necessary action with your records.

We all have bad days, and when we feel ill we may feel ‘down’ and a little more irritable than normal.

All our staff are here to help you. Reception staff are following procedures that help the practice to function efficiently. Staff have the right to work in a safe and secure environment and we, as employers, have the legal responsibility to provide that safe and secure environment.

The practice will not tolerate:

• Verbal abuse to staff which prevents them from doing their job or makes them feel unsafe.
• Threats of violence or actual violence to a GP or a member of his or her staff.
• The GPs have the right to remove from their list with immediate effect any patient who behaves in the above manner.