The practice is registered with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). Any request for access to notes by a patient, patient’s representative or outside body will be dealt with in accordance with the Act. Please contact the Practice Manager for further information.

Summary Care Record

If you’re registered with a GP surgery, you’ll have a Summary Care Record unless you’ve chosen not to have one. It contains basic information including your allergies, medicines and any reactions you’ve had to medicine in the past. By storing all this information in one place, it makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

Visit the NHS website for more information on how to access your health records.

GP2GP

GP2GP allows patients’ electronic health records to be transferred directly, securely, and quickly between their old and new practices, when they change GPs.

Find out more about GP2GP on the NHS website.

Your data matters to the NHS

Your health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information. This data can be used to help with research and planning.

You can choose to stop your confidential patient information being used for research and planning. You can also make a choice for someone else like your children under the age of 13.

Your choice will only apply to the health and care system in England. This does not apply to health or care services accessed in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Find out how this data is used and how to opt out.

For patients attending appointments at Priors Field Surgery there is free car parking at the rear of the surgery building. Please only use this when attending the surgery.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) makes sure hospitals, care homes, dental and GP surgeries, and all other care services in England provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and encourages them to make improvements where possible. They do this by inspecting services and publishing the results on their website: www.cqc.org.uk.

You can use the results to help you make better decisions about the care you, or someone you care for, receives.

Our CQC Inspection Our practice is inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure we are meeting essential standards of quality and safety.

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.

Complaints about the services offered by Priors Field Surgery are thankfully rare, but we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. These are always taken seriously and dealt with fairly and as quickly as possible.

Complaints should be addressed to the practice operations manager.

See our full complaints policy.

Feedback and comments

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends Priors Field Surgery, and welcome comments and feedback to help improve the services we provide.

We would like to hear from you if you have a suggestion on how we can do things better and improve patients’ experiences. We would also like to hear from you if you are pleased with the care and service you have received from the surgery. We will let staff involved know and share the good practice across our teams.

Complaints

Complaints about the services offered by Priors Field Surgery are thankfully rare, but we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. These are always taken seriously and dealt with fairly and as quickly as possible.

We take complaints very seriously. If you need to make a complaint about the surgery or the services we offer, please contact the Practice Manager by telephone or, if you prefer, in writing. We will answer your concerns as soon as possible.

Priors Field Surgery,
24 High Street,
Sutton,
Ely,
Cambridgeshire,
CB6 2RB

Call: 01353 778208

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.

Purpose:

This annual statement will be generated at the culmination of each year 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. It summarises: –

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 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 Priors Field Surgery Lead for Infection Prevention and Control is Carly Loop (Clinical Nurse Manager).  The Infection Prevention Control Lead is supported by Rebecca Taylor (Practice Operations Manager).

Annual infection control training is a mandatory requirement for all surgery staff. Carly Loop last updated her infection control training on 27/01/2025 and attended off site ICB wide training on 05.03.2025.

Known learning events related to IPC during 2024

Learning events (which may involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events) are investigated in detail to see what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements.  All learning events are reviewed annually during staff clinical governance training.   Significant events (where actual harm is identified to have been caused) are investigated in the same manner.

In the past year there has been 0 learning or significant events documented that related to infection control at Priors Field Surgery.

Infection Prevention Audit and Actions

During 2024 Priors Field was under the management of Malling Health.

Under the new management of St Mary’s Surgery, Priors Field Surgery plan the following IPC related audits for 2025:-

Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit

Quarterly handwashing audits

Quarterly Cytology audits

Weekly cleaning inspections

Randomised clinical room inspections

Monthly rotations of clinical supplies (store rooms and clinical rooms)

Pre Acceptance waste Audit (through Anenta)

Duty of Care Waste Audit (through Anenta)

Risk Assessments:

Risk assessments are carried out so that best practice can be established and then followed.  In the coming year, the following risk assessments will be carried out / reviewed: –

Legionella (Water) Risk Assessment: – Priors Field is under the professional management of Aquacert.  Annual testing in contracted.   Reports are kept with the practice manager.

Immunisation: – St Mary’s Surgery ensures that our staff clinical staff are up to date with their Hepatitis B immunisations. All Priors Field surgery staff are offered annual influenza vaccination and any COVID 19 vaccinations as recommended by the UK Government.

Clinical Waste:  Our clinical waste collections are overseen by Anenta who direct Miete with regards to the collection of both bagged waste and sharps containers.

Covid19: – The national guidance that has required the continued wearing of face masks and face coverings across health and social care settings was withdrawn on Tuesday 16 May 2023.  Our staff are still asked to wear facemasks to offer protection to our patients if and when exhibiting any                   signs/symptoms of a respiratory tract infection.  Patients are encouraged but not mandated to wear facemasks in the same circumstances.  Masks and alcohol based hand gel are readily accessible in the waiting area and all clinical rooms.  PPE is procured from our private suppliers and these provisions include gloves, aprons, masks, alcohol based hand gel and, where indicated, face shields and full body gowns.

Cleaning of the premises:

The surgery is cleaned by prior to the commencement of each working day.  Clinical staff are responsible for cleaning their own working areas between patient interactions during their working day.

Training:

Annual Infection control training is a mandatory requirement for all surgery staff. Our current compliance rate for all staff to be up to date with their training is 33%.  This figure represents training completed between 1 April 2025 and 30 June 2025

Policies:

All Infection Prevention and Control related policies are in date for this year.   Policies relating to Infection Prevention and Control are available to all staff, are reviewed, and updated bi-annually, and all are amended on an on-going basis as current advice, guidance, and legislation changes.

Annual review completion date:

June 2025

Next review date:

January 2026 (for the 2025 year)

Responsibility for review:

The Infection Prevention and Control Lead is responsible for reviewing and producing Priors Field Surgery’s Annual Statement.

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.

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.

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.

All patients at Priors Field Surgery have a named, accountable doctor who is responsible for coordinating their care.

Your named doctor will be allocated to you by the practice. You can still talk to or make appointments to see any of our doctors or nurses, not just your named GP.

If you have a preference and would like to request a particular doctor at the practice to be your named GP please talk to one of our receptionists.

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.

We respect your right to privacy and keep all your health information confidential and secure. It is important that the NHS keeps accurate and up-to-date records about your health and treatment so that those treating you can give you the best possible care.

This information may be used for management and audit purposes. However, it is usually only available to, and used by, those involved in your care. You have the right to know what information we hold about you. If you would like to see your records please contact the Practice Manager.

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of healthcare and central to the work of everyone employed in General Practice. All information about patients is confidential: from the most sensitive diagnosis, to the fact of having visited the surgery or being registered at the practice.

The duty of confidentiality owed to a person under 16 is as great as the duty owed to any other person.

All patients can expect that their personal information will not be disclosed without their permission other than in the most exceptional circumstances, when somebody is at grave risk of serious harm.

Responsibilities of practice staff

All health professionals must follow their professional codes of practice and the law. This means that they must make every effort to protect confidentiality. It also means that no identifiable information about a patient is passed to anyone or any agency without the express permission of that patient, except when this is essential for providing care or necessary to protect somebody’s health, safety or wellbeing. The patient is entitled to refuse to give their consent for disclosure.

All health professionals are individually accountable for their own actions. They should also work together as a team to ensure that standards of confidentiality are upheld, and that improper disclosures are avoided.

Additionally, the GP as an employer:

• Is responsible for ensuring that everybody employed by the practice understands the need for, and maintains, confidentiality;
• Has overall responsibility for ensuring that systems and mechanisms to protect confidentiality are in place; and
• Has vicarious liability for the actions of those working in the practice – including the health professionals and non-clinical staff.

Standards of confidentiality apply to all health professionals, administrative and ancillary staff – including receptionists, secretaries, practice managers, cleaners and maintenance staff who are bound by contracts of employment to maintain confidentiality – and also to students or others observing practice.

They must not reveal to anybody outside the practice personal information they learn in the course of their work, or due to their presence in the surgery, without the patient’s consent.

Nor will they discuss with colleagues any aspect of a patient’s attendance at the surgery in a way that might allow identification of the patient, unless to do so is necessary for that patient’s care.

If disclosure is necessary:

If a patient or another person is at grave risk of serious harm which disclosure to an appropriate person would prevent, the relevant health professional will counsel the patient about the benefits of disclosure. If the patient refuses to allow disclosure, the health professional can take advice from colleagues within the practice, or from a professional, regulatory or defence body, in order to decide whether a disclosure without consent is justified to protect the patient or another person. If a decision is taken to disclose, the patient should always be informed before the disclosure is made, unless to do so could be dangerous.

If a member of staff is faced with such a request, any such decisions should be shared with another member of the practice team and the matter should be discussed in the first instance with the relevant team leader, for onward referral to the Practice Manager as needed.

Any decision to disclose information to protect health, safety or wellbeing will be based on the degree of current or potential harm, not on the age of the patient.

This policy sets out the Priors Field Surgery provision to ensure that patients are afforded privacy and dignity, and are treated respectfully, in all appropriate circumstances where there is the potential for embarrassment or for the patient to feel ‘ill at ease’.

The requirement to respect patients is the responsibility of all staff, not just those in direct clinical contact with the patient.

View our full patient dignity policy.

We aim to treat our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way.

It is your responsibility to keep your appointments, inform us of your past illnesses, medication, hospital admissions and any other relevant details.

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.

As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act and GDPR law 2018. This means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled in ways that are safe, transparent and what you would reasonably expect. Please contact reception for further information on our Privacy Policy.

Priors Field Surgery aims to provide you with the highest quality healthcare. To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care or treatment that we have provided for you or plan to provide for you.

These records are your ‘health care record’, and may be stored in paper form or on computer and electronic systems and may include personal data.

What is personal data?

Personal data is information about you, such as:

• Basic details – name, address, date of birth, NHS number, contact details, next of kin, etc.
• Sensitive personal data – details about contact we have had with you, e.g. clinical visits, notes and reports about your health, records about any treatment and care you have received, and test results, e.g. blood tests or x-rays.

As a healthcare provider, Priors Field Surgery is permitted to collect, store, use and share this information under Data Protection Legislation, which has a specific section related to healthcare data.

Here are some examples of what we do with your information:

• Refer you to other healthcare providers when you need other services or tests
• Share samples with laboratories for testing (e.g. blood samples)
• Share test results with hospitals or community services
• Allow out of hours GPs or clinicians to look at your health record when you have an appointment
• Send prescriptions to a pharmacy
• Share reports with a coroner
• Receive reports of appointments you have attended elsewhere, such as with the community nurse, or if you have stayed in hospital.

What else do we do with your information?

As well as activities related directly to your care, we also use information in ways which allow us to check that care is safe and provide data for the improvement and planning of services.

The surgery is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller.

Priors Field Surgery takes your privacy very seriously. If you have any questions or concerns in relation to the way we manage your personal information, please contact the Practice Manager.

Priors Field Surgery aims to provide you with the highest quality healthcare. To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care or treatment that we have provided for you or plan to provide for you.

These records are your ‘health care record’, and may be stored in paper form or on computer and electronic systems and may include personal data.

What is personal data?

Personal data is information about you, such as:

• Basic details – name, address, date of birth, NHS number, contact details, next of kin, etc.
• Sensitive personal data – details about contact we have had with you, eg clinical visits, notes and reports about your health, records about any treatment and care you have received, and test results, eg blood tests or x-rays.

As a healthcare provider, Priors Field Surgery is permitted to collect, store, use and share this information under Data Protection Legislation, which has a specific section related to healthcare data.

Here are some examples of what we do with your information

• Refer you to other healthcare providers when you need other services or tests
• Share samples with laboratories for testing (eg blood samples)
• Share test results with hospitals or community services
• Allow out of hours GPs or clinicians to look at your health record when you have an appointment
• Send prescriptions to a pharmacy
• Share reports with a coroner
• Receive reports of appointments you have attended elsewhere, such as with the community nurse, or if you have stayed in hospital.

What else do we do with your information?

As well as activities related directly to your care, we also use information in ways which allow us to check that care is safe and provide data for the improvement and planning of services.

The surgery is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller and our registration number is ZB872942.

Priors Field Surgery takes your privacy very seriously. If you have any questions or concerns in relation to the way we manage your personal information, please contact the Practice Operations Manager.

Read our full privacy policy

Priors Field Surgery Policy on Private Capacity Assessments

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

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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

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.

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 the NHS App if you are registered.  This is the primary means of accessing your information and we encourage all patients to register for this 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.

Read Priors Field Surgery full SAR policy and find request forms.

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.

We take seriously any threatening, abusive or violent behaviour against any of our staff or patients.

Priors Field Surgery fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS. We aim to treat our patients courteously at all times and expect our patients to treat our staff in a similarly respectful way.

Priors Field Surgery staff have the right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused and we have a zero tolerance policy to any threatening, abusive or violent behaviour against any of our staff or patients.

Patients using threatening or violent behaviour to GPs or any other person on the practice premises may be removed from the patient list with immediate effect.