What is a Summary Care Record?

A Summary Care Record (SCR) is a short summary of your medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you important information about the medicines you take, any allergies you have and any bad reactions to medicines that you have had.

Giving access to your SCR to health professionals away from your usual GP (for example in an emergency, at out-patient clinics or when you’re on holiday) means that they can give you a better patient experience and ensure you are given the right medicines and treatment at the point of care. Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your SCR.

Your SCR also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS number to help identify you correctly.

More information about how the NHS uses Summary Care Records.

Your decision

As a patient registered with a GP in England, you will automatically have an SCR created unless you opt out. To do so, you need to let your GP practice know by filling in and returning a summary care opt out form.

Regardless of your past decisions about your Summary Care Record consent preferences, you can change your mind at any time.

Children under 16 years

A patient or guardian can request to opt out children under 16. Ultimately it is the GPs 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.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), everybody has the right to obtain a copy of their personal data. Personal data in relation to the surgery means your medical records, and an individual is only entitled to their own personal data, and not to information relating to other people (unless the information is also about them or they are acting on behalf of someone). Under special circumstances, some information may be withheld.

You do not need to give a reason to see your personal data and access to the majority of your medical records can be provided through SystmOnline if you are registered. This is the primary means of accessing your information and we encourage all patients to register for online access.

Where access is not possible, then patients can make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the practice. We ask that you make your request in writing, where possible and be as specific as possible about the information you require.

The practice will provide the SAR information you require free of charge within one calendar month of the date of your request. However if your request is more complex or a number of requests have been made by you, the turnaround time might be extended and we may charge a reasonable fee where the request is viewed as excessive or additional copies are required.

Making a Subject Access Request

Patients must provide proof of identity when making a SAR.

Required documentation:

An individual making a request for his/her own records

• A copy of one of the following – birth certificate, passport or driving licence plus a copy of proof of address, such as utility bill

An individual making a request on behalf of an individual (acting as a representative)

• One item showing proof of the patient’s identity and one item showing proof of the representative’s identity.

Staff training is important to us. We regularly review our staff to ensure they have the right qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience to do their jobs.

We also cover mandatory training for all staff including basic life support, infection control, fire safety, and safeguarding. For our clinical staff, we offer specific training appropriate to their role, including immunisation, cervical smear and long-term conditions updates.

Every couple of months, the surgery closes for whole practice training. These afternoons enable all our staff to be brought up-to-date on all they need to know – for the benefit of our patients.

You can find details of the dates, throughout the year, that we are closed for training on our contact page.

When the surgery is closed, please call 111 if you have a medical concern. Call 999 in a true emergency situation

At Priors Field Surgery, we are dedicated to supporting patients in making informed decisions about their health. We regularly assess mental capacity in relation to medical treatment, in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). This Act plays a crucial role in safeguarding the rights and autonomy of individuals, ensuring their ability to make decisions whenever possible, and protecting them when they are unable to do so.

Mental capacity assessments are always decision-specific. GPs at Priors Field Surgery are well-trained to assess capacity within the context of day to day primary care healthcare decisions, such as consent to treatment, referrals and future care planning.

However, assessments beyond this, such as those related to testamentary capacity (e.g., creating a Will) or Lasting Powers of Attorney for either health or finance, often require a different set of skills and expertise. For these matters, it is important for the individual, their family, or representatives to seek the most appropriate and experienced professional, such as a psychiatrist or solicitor. If you are looking for assistance with this type of assessment we advise consulting with a specialist in this area to ensure the best outcome and avoid potential challenges.

Your data matters to the NHS. Information about your health and care can be used to help improve not only your individual care, but can help speed up diagnoses, plan local and regional health services and research new treatments.

The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

You can choose whether your confidential patient information is used. On 25 May 2018, the national data opt-out programme was introduced, enabling patients to opt-out from the use of their data for research or planning purposes.

Find out how you can opt-out; or find out more about how your information is used.

Here at Priors Field Surgery your doctor or nurse will generally not give you a prescription for medication that is available to buy over-the-counter (OTC) from local pharmacies or supermarkets.

• This covers medicines or treatments for a range of minor health conditions including cough and cold treatments, eye drops, headache tablets, laxatives, sun cream lotions, vitamins and probiotics.

All these medicines are widely available from supermarkets and pharmacies at reasonable cost.

Patients are encouraged to keep a small supply of simple treatments in their own medicine cabinet so they are able to manage minor ailments at home.

By reducing the amount it spends on OTC medicines, the NHS can give priority to treatments for people with more serious conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and mental health problems.

Interpreting services are available to all our patients and we can arrange for an interpreter to attend your appointment with a GP or nurse, if required.

If you need an interpreter, please add this to your consultation request, or ask a member of the Patient Services Team when you book your appointment.

If you have a hearing problem, we have British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters available for clinical appointments.

• BSL is a language in its own right and as with verbal interpreting, our interpreters abide by a strict code of ethics, covering impartiality, accuracy and confidentiality.

All interpreting services used by Priors Field Surgery are procured through the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System.

Priors Field Surgery is part of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS). This ICS is one of the largest in the country covering a patient population of over 990,000 people.

The ICS is responsible for planning and buying local NHS services, such as hospital care and in the community, as well as ensuring that the best possible care and treatment is delivered to patients.

For more information, please visit the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System website.

The Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

This scheme is available from reception.

What is a chaperone?

Priors Field Surgery is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the dignity and safety of everyone is of paramount importance.

A chaperone is an adult who is present during an intimate examination of a patient. They are there to protect both the patient and the doctor or clinician from allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

At Priors Field Surgery, we offer chaperones for both male and female patients in the event that you need to be examined.

To request a chaperone, please either ask reception, or mention this to the GP or clinician at the time of your appointment.

Can my partner, relative or friend act as a chaperone?

You can choose to have your partner, relative or friend with you during your examinations. It can be helpful to think about whether you and they will feel comfortable about this. Also, there could be matters that you would prefer to discuss confidentially with your doctor or clinician.

What about my privacy?

The chaperone will have had training about maintaining confidentiality and will also know what is and what is not necessary during this type of examination.

It is our policy to respect the privacy and dignity of our patients. If you would like a chaperone to be present during a physical examination/consultation, or if you would prefer to be examined by a health professional of the same gender as yourself, please let us know and we will do our best to comply with your wishes.

What if I do not want a chaperone present?

The presence of a chaperone should only be with the agreement of both the patient and the doctor or clinician. During intimate examination of a patient of the opposite sex to a doctor, a chaperone should always be present.

If the examining clinician feels that a chaperone should be present and the offer of a chaperone is declined by the patient, the clinician may not wish to continue with the examination.

Chaperones and children

If the examination is to be carried out on a child, a chaperone must be present at all times. This may be a parent or carer, although there may be some circumstances where this is not appropriate. Children cannot be chaperones for adults or be present during the intimate examinations.

Best practice guidelines

Prior to undertaking any clinical examination the health professional should:

· Explain why the examination is needed, giving the patient opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns.

· Explain what the examination will involve, reassuring the patient if they are likely to experience pain or discomfort.

· Ensure the patient’s consent is obtained before the examination and be prepared to stop if the patient requests. Consent must be documented.

· Offer a chaperone. If the patient does not want a chaperone the health professional must record that the offer was made and declined. If a chaperone is present the health professional should record that fact and make a note of the chaperone’s identity.

· If for justifiable reasons a chaperone cannot be offered the health professional should explain that to the patient, offer to delay the examination or procedure to a later date. The health professional should record the discussion and its outcome.

The practice will ensure that all members of staff receive the level of training necessary for them to fulfil their individual responsibilities identified in this policy.