Confidentiality

The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Freedom of Information

The ICO has published a new Model Publication Scheme that all public authorities are required to adopt.

Model Publication Scheme - further information

registration The GP’s in the Health Centre and the receptionists accept that it is difficult to provide an ideal service to each patient- but we try! Nevertheless there may be occasions when patients are dissatisfied with the way in which their problems have been handled.

If you have a complaint about the services received from the doctors or their staff it will be taken seriously. You should express any concerns you may have to a member of staff, or you can write to Dr Aquilina or Dr Briscoe. On receipt of a complaint you will receive an acknowledgement within two working days. When a complaint has been received you will be asked who you would like to help investigate the matter (e.g. a GP or staff member of your choice).

You should then receive an explanation regarding your complaint within 2 weeks. This explanation can either be in writing or if you prefer, an appointment could be made for a meeting, to which you can bring a relative or friend. We will try to address your concerns in full, provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed.

We hope that in the end you will feel that appropriate action has been taken in response to your complaint. However, if you are still not happy and wish to take the matter further you should contact: - Ralph Roberts, Chief Executive, NHS Shetland, Brevik House, Lerwick.

The General Manager of the health board has the option of referring the complaint back to the practice, or convening an independent review panel. You would also be advised of your right to approach the HEALTH SERVICE OMBUDSMAN.

Further information or advice on the formal complaints procedure can be obtained from the:- Primary Care Administrator, NHS Shetland, Lerwick. Tel 01595 743060

Yell & Fetlar Medical Practice Charter

We aim to provide the best possible quality health care to meet the needs of our patients.

This charter explains the standards you can normally expect from us and how you can best help us to achieve them.

What you can expect from us:

Your telephone call will be answered promptly and politely.
You will be greeted in a friendly, welcoming manner.
The surgery premises will be clean, comfortable, suitable for wheelchairs and smoke free
All information is treated in the strictest confidence – if you wish to speak to any member of staff privately, please ask.
Your consultation with the doctor will only be disturbed in exceptional circumstances.
If you wish to see a doctor for a non-urgent consultation, you will usually be offered an appointment to see an available doctor within 48 hours. If you wish to see a particular doctor, you will be given the next available appointment.
If you need to see a doctor urgently, you will be given an appointment the same day.
In an emergency, the doctor will decide the best course of action.
You will normally be seen within 30 minutes of your appointment time. However, unavoidable delays can occur and you will be informed if there is likely to be a delay.
Your doctor will explain at the time of ordering investigations, when to attend or telephone for results, as some take a lot longer than others.
Referral letters will be despatched within 72 hours of referral having been agreed between you and the doctor, urgent referrals will be despatched within 24 hours.
Your have the right to access your medical records subject to certain limitations (Data Protection Act l990) and a fee may be charged for this service.
Practice leaflets are available to all patients – please ask at the reception desk
Your medicines will be dispensed accurately and usually within 30 minutes of you seeing the doctor. Repeat prescriptions require 24 hours notice if you collect them in person or by Friday before for collection at Burravoe or Cullivoe clinics.
In the interest of your health, it is important that you understand all the information given to you. No care or treatment will be given to you without your informed consent, and any questions you may have regarding your health will be answered.

What we expect from you:

You should arrive in good time for your appointment. If your are late we will endeavour to fit you into a gap should one arise. However, surgeries are very busy and this is not always possible, you may have to make a new appointment.
If you are unable to attend, please notify us as soon as possible so that your appointment can be given to someone else.
If you need a double appointment, please tell the receptionist at the time you make the appointment. A normal single appointment is of 15 minutes duration.
Each appointment is for one person only. Please make a separate appointment for each person needing to be seen.
Come to the surgery if possible. The doctor can see 3 or 4 people in the surgery in the time it takes to make one home visit.
If a home visit is needed please request it before 11.00am if possible.
The telephone lines are always busy, especially in the mornings. Please keep your calls brief.
Please make sure that you do not run out of your medications and allow the appropriate time for repeat prescriptions to be dispensed. Please avoid ordering repeat prescriptions on Saturdays.
You will usually be able to speak to the doctor on the telephone if you wish. Between 11.30am – 12 noon is the best time, but the receptionist will advise you of a suitable alternative time to call if the doctor is unavailable.
When the surgery is closed please only call the doctor if urgent attention is required. He or she is on call every night and weekend, and on occasion has little sleep and is still at the surgery during the next day. Only call if your problem cannot wait until normal surgery hours.

Remember, you are largely responsible for your own health and it is up to you to take the advice and action we recommend to you.

We are happy to receive your comments and suggestions about any aspects of the service we provide.

We have a Practice Complaints Procedure and if, unfortunately, you have reason to complain, please contact a member of staff or one of the doctors who will take the appropriate action. You can make a complaint in person or in writing if your prefer.

Policy statement

Children under 16 can give their own consent if the medical practitioner attending the child considers the child capable of understanding the nature and possible consequences of the procedure or treatment. If the child is judged capable, the practitioner must seek consent of the child rather than that of the parent.

Where a child is judged incapable of consenting, consent should normally be obtained from a person with parental responsibilities and rights, or one of the other categories of person listed.

It should be noted that, if a child is capable of giving his or her own consent, the parents lose any right they may have had to consent on the child’s behalf. This does not mean that parents must always be excluded from the discussions. Unless there are issues about the child’s confidentiality, it would be reasonable to involve parents in helping the child to reach a decision. This would be consistent with the philosophy of partnership with parents which underlies the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. However if the child is judged competent, it is the child’s consent alone that is legally effective.

Subject to any court order restricting parental rights, those who can give consent on behalf of an incapable child are:

The mother whether married to the father or not.
The child’s natural father, if married to the mother
The child’s natural father, even if divorced from the mother
An unmarried father who has entered and registered a formal Parental Responsibilities and Parental Rights Agreement with the mother. This is a new agreement introduced by the 1995 Act. Those holding rights under such an Agreement will have been issued with an ‘extract’ from the Books of the Council and Session where it is registered.
A legal guardian nominated in writing by a parent before the parent’s death. This appointment comes into effect automatically on the death of the parent.
A person holding a Residence Order in relation to the child, or any other court order giving them the right to consent on the child’s behalf.
A person aged 16 or over who has care or control of a child, unless it is within their knowledge that a parent would refuse consent. The right to consent under this provision is limited to what is ‘reasonable in all the circumstances to safeguard the child’s heath, development and welfare’. It is a protective, fallback provision and could not be used to authorise, for example, organ donation, non-therapeutic cosmetic surgery or involvement in research for the benefit of others. This provision could apply to relatives or friends with whom the child is living whether permanently or temporarily. It could also include childminders and baby-sitters. It may be particularly useful with regard to foster carers. Children may be in foster care for a variety of reasons. In most cases, the child’s natural parents will retain parental responsibility subject to any orders made by the court or children’s hearing. This provision will allow medical practitioners to take the foster carer’s consent to the limited kinds of treatment described above, without requiring too much enquiry into the child’s legal status. This provision will allow medical practitioners to take the foster carer’s consent to the limited kinds of treatment described above, without requiring too much enquiry into the child’s legal status. This provision does not apply to teachers or other whose care or control is restricted to the school setting.
A person to whom the parent or other person with parental responsibilities and rights has delegated the right to consent to medical procedures or treatment in relation to the child. There are no formal requirements in relation to this delegation.

This has been extracted from a briefing from Kathleen Marshall. The full briefing can be obtained on http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library2/doc11/pcsr-42.asp