The purpose of this protocol is to set out the practice's approach to consent and the way in which the principles of consent will be put into practise. It is not a detailed legal or procedural resource due to the nature and complexity of the issues surrounding consent.

Read the full Consent Protocol.

The Practice considers aggressive behaviour to be personal, abusive and/or aggressive comments, offensive language, physical contact and/or aggressive gestures.

The Practice will request the removal of any patient from the Practice list who is aggressive or abusive towards a doctor, member of staff, other patients, or who damages property. All instances of actual physical abuse by a patient or their relatives will be reported to the police as an assault.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force on 1st January 2005 and enables any person requesting information from a public body to receive that information, subject to certain exemptions.

Read The Lade Medical Practice General Practitioners' Publication Scheme for more information.

We are committed to working in partnership with you to provide the best possible primary health care to you and your family.

• You will be treated as an individual with respect and courtesy irrespective of your ethnic origin, religious belief, personal attributes or the nature of your health problems.
• We wish to allow you to fully participate in all decision-making relative to your health care.
• We will keep you fully informed about our services and any changes that are likely to affect your care.
• We will make available a Practice booklet, setting out the services provided to all patients including methods of contacting the Practice and members of the Practice team and their availability.
• We will ensure that all staff members are readily identifiable.
• We will ensure that all members of staff are appropriately trained to deal with your queries and problems.
• We will provide the full range of services commensurate with current general practice and refer you to appropriate or specialist services where necessary.
• We will ensure that systems are in place to allow you to receive any medication safely and efficiently
• You will have the right to review your medical records, subject to the provisions of the relevant Acts, and to know that those working for the NHS are under a legal obligation to keep the contents confidential.
• We will provide a full and prompt reply to any complaints about the services provided by the Practice.
• We will ensure that you are offered a range of appropriate appointments, including telephone consultations, with the clinical staff. Home visits will be available for those too ill or infirm to attend the surgery.
• We will try to ensure that you are seen on time wherever possible but if there is a significant delay you are advised of the reasons.
• We will aim for you to have access to a suitably qualified medical professional within 48 hours of your initial contact during surgery hours or in an urgent case the same day.

You can make your complaint by e-mail or in writing.

We have a two-stage complaints procedure. We will always try to deal with your complaint quickly, but if it is clear that the matter will need a detailed investigation we will tell you and keep you updated on our progress.

1. Stage one: Early, local resolution
   

   We will always try to resolve your complaint quickly, within five working days if we can. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at Stage two.

2. Stage two: Investigation
   

   We will look at your complaint at this stage if you are dissatisfied with our response at Stage one. We also look at some complaints immediately at this stage, if it is clear that they are complex or need detailed investigation.

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will give you our decision as soon as possible. This will be after no more than 20 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for needing more time.

If, after receiving our final decision on your complaint, you remain dissatisfied with our decision or the way we have handled your complaint, you can ask The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to consider it.

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

• To provide further medical treatment for you eg from District Nurses or hospital services.
• To help you access other services eg from the Social Work Department. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others eg in child protection cases.

Anonymised patient information will be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services eg for diabetic care. If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

The Lade Medical Practice processes personal identifiable information that relates to patients and is therefore required by law to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which protect your privacy and ensure that your personal information is processed fairly and lawfully.

Read more in our Data Protection Notice.

The healthcare team at The Lade Medical Practice are committed to ensuring that your medical information is held securely and in line with current legislation. You will appreciate that health data relating to any individual is highly confidential and the Practice must ensure that it releases such data only to the person to whom it relates, or to a person authorised to act on his/her or their behalf.

• Personal Requests: If you require to see any health data, please complete the SAR Request Form as fully and accurately as possible to enable us to locate the exact information you require. Although no charge will be made initially, where a patient makes repeated requests which are felt to be excessive the practice may be compelled to make a charge for this.
• Timescale: The practice will deal with your request as soon as possible. The information should be available to you within 28 days of receipt of your accurately completed form and confirmation of your identity.
• Proof of ID: You will be asked to provide photographic proof of identity to ensure your information is not released to any unauthorised persons.
• Third Party Requests: Other organisations can also apply to access your information. These requests will normally be accompanied with a copy of your explicit signed consent. These third parties may include:
  • Solicitors who are handling a claim on your behalf
  • Social Services including The Benefits Agency and the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP)
  • Life Assurance companies
  • Occupational Health Organisations
  • Employers

Any information provided to the any of the above named organisations will be checked thoroughly for any references to a third party (e.g. family member) prior to processing and can only be provided with your consent.

If you request it, you also have the right to see any reports being prepared for Insurance Companies, Occupational Health professionals, Employers etc prior to it being sent to them.

• Sharing information without consent: Although we would normally need your consent to share your information, there may be some circumstances where this is not required and we are required by law to provide information. Examples of these circumstances could be:
  • Presence of a formal court order
  • Where there is a concern about serious harm to yourself or another person
  • Where we encounter infectious diseases which may endanger the health of others (not HIV/AIDS)
  • Where there is suspicion that a crime has been committed

  If you have any concerns about how we share your information, please ask to speak to the practice manager on 01738 622421.