Accessing someone else’s information

As a parent, family member or carer, you may be able to access services for someone else. We call this having proxy access. We can set this up for you if you are both registered with us.

To requests proxy access:

• collect a proxy access form from reception from 10am to 6pm

Linked profiles in your NHS account

Once proxy access is set up, you can access the other person’s profile in your NHS account, using the NHS App or website.

The NHS website has information about using linked profiles to access services for someone else.

If you want chaperone when you are examined by doctors or nurses, feel free to ask for one. If you are having intimate examination or any other examination you may be offered to have a chaperone. You should be told why the examination is needed and what it entails.

If you are not comfortable with the examination don’t hesitate to ask the examination to be stopped.

The NHS Act 2006 and Health and Social Care Act 2012 invests statutory functions on GP Practices to promote and provide the health service to improve quality of services, reduce inequalities, conduct research, review performance of services and deliver education & training. To do this we will need to process your information in accordance with current data protection legislation to:

Protect your vital interests;

• Pursue our legitimate interests as a provider of medical care, particularly where the individual is a child or vulnerable adult
• Performs tasks in the public’s interests
• deliver preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, medical research; and
• Manage the health and social system and services.

Should require any further information on GDPR or Data Protection Act, this can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website:

• https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

You can also contact the practice’s Data Protection Officer. When contacting the Data Protection Officer please ensure that you include the details of the practice.

Data Protection Officer: Mr James Carroll

Tel No: 0191 404 1000 Ext 3436

Email address: [email protected]

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised, and the required disclosure is shown below. However it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice, and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in this practice in the last full financial year was £81,416 before Tax and National insurance. This is for zero full time GPs, two part time GPs and three locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

2020/2021

The NHS constitution sets out rights for people who use the NHS and also their responsibility in making the appropriate use. Below is the edited highlights from the constitution.

The Constitution will be renewed every 10 years. Key points below:

1. The NHS provides a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
2. Access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay. NHS services are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament.
3. The NHS aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism – in the provision of high-quality care that is safe, effective and focused on patient experience.
4. The NHS works across organisational boundaries and in partnership with other organisations in the interest of patients, local communities and the wider population.
5. The NHS is committed to providing best value for taxpayers’ money and the most effective, fair and sustainable use of finite resources.

Patients and the public – your responsibilities:

1. You should recognise that you can make a significant contribution to your own, and your family’s, good health and well-being, and take some personal responsibility for it.
2. You should treat NHS staff and other patients with respect and recognise that causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises could result in prosecution.
3. You should keep appointments, or cancel within reasonable time. Receiving treatment within the maximum waiting times may be compromised unless you do.
4. You should ensure that those closest to you are aware of your wishes about organ donation.
5. You should give feedback –both positive and negative – about the treatment and care you have received, including any adverse reactions you may have had.

You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access/view what information the surgery holds about you, and to have it amended or removed should it be inaccurate. This is known as ‘the right of subject access’.

If we do hold information about you we will:

• Give you a description of it
• Tell you why we are holding it
• Tell you who it could be disclosed to, and
• Let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form

If you would like to make a ‘subject access request’, please contact the practice directly on [email protected]

SCR Consent

If you do not opt out, it is implied you give consent for information to be uploaded to the spine. To opt out, you will need to complete SCR opt out form and return it to the surgery. 

SCR is automatically created for children aged 9 months to 15 years, as their consent is not required. If you do not want your children included on the spine, you must discuss it with your GP, but ultimately it is the GP’s decision, because of their duty of care to the child.

Information sharing across Sunderland to support patient care

At the moment, every health organisation holds a different set of records about you. This information may be duplicated or incomplete.

At Wearside Medical Practice we are supporting a new, confidential way of improving the care you receive by allowing a range of local services to share the information held electronically (on computer) about you in their records. Healthcare staff have different levels of access depending on their role, ranging from full to partial access i.e. a district nurse has different access to a physiotherapist.

Wearside Medical Practice and South Tyneside Foundation Trust (which provides our local community healthcare services – like community nurses, specialist GP s and physiotherapy services) work together to do this. In the future we hope to include more health and social care organisations to make the service even better.

Information is already shared by phone; email; fax and on paper but the new system allows this to happen quickly; efficiently and more securely, from one place, electronically.

What kind of information will be shared?

• List of diagnosed conditions – so professionals have a complete record of your care
• Medications – so everyone treating you knows what medicines you’ve been prescribed
• Allergies – to make sure you aren’t given medicine that might give you an adverse reaction
• Test results – to speed up your treatment and care
• Referrals, clinic letters and discharge information – to make sure the people caring for you have all the information they need about other treatment you’re having elsewhere
• Up-to-date contact details

What are the benefits of information sharing?

• Joined-up and safer care
• More time to spend on care
• Less paperwork
• Informed decision making
• You don’t have to repeat details to different professionals.

Can anybody view my shared records?

Only health professionals directly involved in your care will see your health record.
We won’t share it with anyone who isn’t providing your treatment, care or support. Your details won’t be made public, passed on to a third party or used for advertising.

How do I know my shared records are secure?

By law, everyone working in, or for, the NHS and social care must respect your privacy and keep your information safe.

Information about your health is held on secure computer systems by the NHS. The system records anyone who looks at a person’s information, the time and date of access and the information they viewed.

Data Protection is taken very seriously and we check that your information is only accessed by the people who need to see it. by the NHS.

Seeing my record or opting out of information sharing

If you want to see your records or opt out of local information sharing you can do this, but opting out of information sharing means that your GP cannot share your information with any other healthcare professional. This may have an impact on the level of care you receive.

If you do not wish to share your information, inform a member of our Reception Staff.

This sharing is managed locally, joining up health across Sunderland. There is also a national system called the Summary Care Record that health professionals can access a subset of information securely. You can find out more on the NHS Choices website

Read this leaflet: Information Sharing in Sunderland

Our Policy

This Practice adopts a ZERO TOLERANCE approach to violence and aggression. Aggressive and violent behaviour is considered to be any personal, threatening or abusive language (cursing or swearing), gestures (including sexual), physical contact, derogatory sexual or racial remarks, shouting at any persons or applying force to any Practice property or the property of any persons within the Practice.

This includes people banging on desks or counters or shouting loudly in an intimidating manner.

This approach applies to any patients, visitors and any persons working within the Practice demonstrating any of the above behaviour towards patients, visitors or staff. The Partners are committed to doing everything possible to protect staff, patients and visitors from unacceptable behaviour and to support zero tolerance to any incident that causes hurt, alarm, damage or distress.

It also applies to any Partner or Employee of the Practice whilst on duties away from the Surgery if their duties are related to the business of the Practice.

Patients who are violent or aggressive towards any person on Surgery premises will be removed from the Practice list.