Sherard Road Medical Centre

Parking

Sherard Road has onsite parking facilities for staff and patients. There is also on street parking in the surrounding area, some with restrictions, please check before you park.

Public Transport

Sherard Road is close to Eltham Railway and Bus station, numerous bus services stop on Well Hall Road or at the Bus station

Kidbrooke Village Medical Centre

Parking

There is a community underground carpark accessible to the public. Access to this can be found on Anderson Road. Parking is free for the first 30 minutes any time spent after that will be chargeable. You will need to pay for your parking before exiting the carpark using your ticket at the machine.

There is also a limited amount of on street parking in the surrounding area, some with restrictions, please check before you park.

Public Transport

Opposite Kidbrooke Railway Station.

• B16 – Bexleyheath to Kidbrooke
• 178 – Woolwich Arsenal to Lewisham
• 335 – Wingfield School to North Greenwich

Coldharbour Surgery

Parking

There is a community car park for staff and patients. There is also on street parking in the surrounding area, some with restrictions, please check before you park.

Public Transport

• 160 – Catford to Sidcup Station
• 162 – Beckenham to Eltham Bus station

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.

If you are Dissatisfied with the Outcome You have the right to approach the Ombudsman. The contact details are:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London  SW1P 4QP

Tel:    0345 0154033

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

You may also approach PALS for help or advice;

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns you may have about the care we provide, guiding you through the different services available from the NHS.

Greenwich PALS: 0800 169 9928

The practice Complaints Manager:

Adele Zuzarte

Everest Health Partnership

Complaints Procedure

Making a Complaint

Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time they arise with the person concerned and this may be the approach you try first.

Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:

Within 12 months of the incident,

or within 12 months of you discovering that you giving as much detail as you can.

If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority. See the separate section in this leaflet.

Send your written complaint to:

Adele Zuzarte (Complaints Manager)

79 William Barefoot Drive

Eltham

SE9 3JD

[email protected]

What we do next

We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.

We will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days, and aim to have looked into the matter within 10 working days. You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so.
When the investigations are complete your complaint will be determined and a final response sent to you.

Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.

The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it. Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed.

Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter.

Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.

We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.

Practice Complaints Procedure

Introduction

This procedure sets out the Practice’s approach to the handling of complaints and is intended as an internal guide which should be made readily available to all staff.

The Practice will take reasonable steps to ensure that patients are aware of:

• the complaints procedure
• the role of other bodies in relation to complaints about services under the contract
• their right to assistance with any complaint from independent advocacy services

The Practice will take reasonable steps to ensure that the complaints procedure is accessible to all patients

Where patients do not wish to complaint through the practice or the complaint relates to services not provided by the practice then they will be provided with details of the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) 0800 4561517.

Complaints

The Practice may receive a complaint made by a patient, or former patient, who is receiving or has received treatment at the Practice

If the patient is unable to make the complaint for any reason then the practice will deal with complaints made by a third party provided that the consent of the patient has been given in writing.

If the patient is a child then:

• by either parent, or in the absence of both parents, the guardian or other adult who has care of the child
• by a person duly authorised by a local authority to whose care the child has been committed under the provisions of the Children Act 1989
•  by a person duly authorised by a voluntary organisation by which the child is being accommodated

Period within which complaints can be made

The period for making a complaint is:

• 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint occurred

or

• 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint comes to the complainant’s notice

The GPs have the discretion to extend the time limits if the complainant has suffered particular distress that prevented them from acting sooner.

Complaints handling

Adele Zuzarte is responsible for the operation of the complaints procedure and the investigation of complaints.

The Partners are responsible for the effective management of the complaints procedure and for ensuring that action is taken in the light of the outcome of any investigation

Action upon receipt of a complaint

Complaints may be received verbally and will be responded to in the same manner or by letter if deemed appropriate by the Complaints Manager

Complaints may be received in writing and must be given to the Complaints Manager or to the Practice Manager in the absence of the Complaints Manager.

All written complaints will be acknowledged in writing within two working days beginning with the day on which the complaint was received or, where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable.

The Complaints Manager will advise the complainant of the next steps and timescale of the investigation.  The Complaints Manager will ensure the complaint is properly investigated.

Where the complaint relates to an administration matter the Complaints Manager will be responsible for providing a response within 10 working days of receipt of the complaint.  If, for any reason, this timescale cannot be met the Complaints Manager will write to the complainant giving reasons for the delay.

Where the complaint relates to the actions of one or more clinicians the complaint will be passed to the relevant clinician(s) and they will be requested to provide information for the response as soon as possible.  If the Clinician requires the advice of the MDU then the Complaints Manager will be responsible for liaising with the MDU after the initial contact.  The Complaints Manager will write to the complainant explaining the delay.

Final Response

This will include:

• A clear statement of the issues, investigations and the findings, giving clear evidence-based reasons for decisions if appropriate
• Where errors have occurred, explain these fully and state what will be done to put these right, or prevent repetition
• A focus on fair and proportionate the outcomes for the patient, including any remedial action or compensation
• A clear statement that the response is the final one, or that further action or reports will be send later
• An apology or explanation as appropriate
• A statement of the right to escalate the complaint, together with the relevant contact details

Review of complaints

The Practice has quarterly complaints review meetings.  All complaints received by the practice in the preceding 12 months will be dealt with at this meeting.

The clinicians may, if they choose, hold ad hoc informal meetings to discuss any clinical issues that have arisen from a complaint.

Confidentiality

All complaints must be treated in the strictest confidence

The practice must keep a record of all complaints and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints, but such records must be kept separate from patients’ medical records.

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.

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 for any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparisons with other practices.

The average pay for GPs working at Everest Health Partnership in the last financial year was £75,211 before tax and national insurance.

This is for 2 full time GPs, 11 part time GPs and 1 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

The practice will no longer offer GP appointments for letters, form filling requests or reports. If you require any of these, please download and complete the Everest Health Partnership – letter request, form completion, report request form.

Please return the completed form and any additional required documentation to us by post or in person at the practice.

If you need a medical we will contact you to arrange an appointment.  There may be a charge depending on what is being requested.

Please note that for non-clinical requests the minimum time for completion is one month.

Patients have a duty to attend for all booked appointments or provide adequate notice of cancellation where needed. Patients who fail to attend for more than three appointments will be warned that future non-attendance may lead to their removal from the list. Each family member wishing to see the doctor or nurse must make a separate appointment.

Any person under the age of 16 may be required to be accompanied by an adult.

Verbal abuse or physical violence to doctors, nurses, staff or other persons on the premises or to persons covering our out-of-hours service will not be tolerated, in line with NHS policy. Patients will be removed from the list if this occurs. In cases of violence, the police will be called.

Doctors, nurses and staff will treat patients with courtesy and consideration. We will give you appropriate information about your condition and treatment.

All staff at the surgery will maintain the confidentiality of patients at all times

Everest Health Partnership is part of the Eltham Primary Care network (Eltham PCN).  The PCN is made up of 5 local practices who are collaborating to deliver additional services to patients.

Currently Eltham PCN provides staff to Everest Health in the following roles:

• Pharmacists
• Physiotherapists
• Physician Associate
• Social Prescribers
• Mental Health Nurse
• Dietician

Everest Health Partnership has a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you, as a registered patient, at the practice. Staff at this practice maintain records about your health and the treatment you receive in electronic and paper format.

What information do we collect about you?

 We will collect information such as personal details, including name, address, next of kin, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health records, treatment and medications, test results, X-rays, etc. and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

How we will use your information

Your data is collected for the purpose of providing direct patient care; however, we can disclose this information if it is required by law, if you give consent or if it is justified in the public interest. The practice may be requested to support research; however, we will always gain your consent before sharing your information with medical research databases such as the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and QResearch or others when the law allows.

 In order to comply with its legal obligations, this practice may send data to NHS Digital when directed by the Secretary of State for Health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Additionally, this practice contributes to national clinical audits and will send the data that is required by NHS Digital when the law allows. This may include demographic data, such as date of birth, and information about your health which is recorded in coded form; for example, the clinical code for diabetes or high blood pressure.

Processing your information in this way and obtaining your consent ensures that we comply with Articles 6(1)(c), 6(1)(e) and 9(2)(h) of the GDPR.

Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security, as well as guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You have a right to access the information we hold about you, and if you would like to access this information, you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Please ask at reception for a SAR form and you will be given further information. Furthermore, should you identify any inaccuracies, you have a right to have the inaccurate data corrected.

Risk stratification

Risk stratification is a mechanism used to identify and subsequently manage those patients deemed as being at high risk of requiring urgent or emergency care. Usually this includes patients with long-term conditions, e.g. cancer. Your information is collected by a number of sources, including Everest Health Partnership; this information is processed electronically and given a risk score which is relayed to your GP who can then decide on any necessary actions to ensure that you receive the most appropriate care.

Invoice validation

 Your information may be shared if you have received treatment to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is responsible for paying for your treatment. This information may include your name, address and treatment date. All of this information is held securely and confidentially; it will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third parties.

Opt-outs

 You have a right to object to your information being shared. Should you wish to opt out of data collection, please contact a member of staff who will be able to explain how you can opt out and prevent the sharing of your information; this is done by registering to opt out online (national data opt-out programme) or if you are unable to do so or do not wish to do so online, by speaking to a member of staff.

Retention periods

 In accordance with the NHS Codes of Practice for Records Management, your healthcare records will be retained for 10 years after death or, if a patient emigrates, for 10 years after the date of emigration.

What to do if you have any questions

 Should you have any questions about our privacy policy or the information we hold about you, you can:

1. Contact the practice’s data controller via email at [email protected]. GP practices are data controllers for the data they hold about their patients
2. Write to the data controller at Everest Health Partnership, 71 Sherard Road, London SE9 6ER
3. Ask to speak to the Business Manager, Helen Oakley, or the Practice Manager, Lindsay McIntyre

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for Everest Health Partnership is Danielle Gibbons and she is based at South East London CCG.

Complaints

 In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with any element of our data-processing methods, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO. For further details, visit ico.org.uk and select “Raising a concern”.

Changes to our privacy policy

 We regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website, in our newsletter and on posters to reflect the changes. This policy is to be reviewed by 30 June 2023.

BMA GPs as data controllers under the GDPR

Everest Health is part of the South East London Integrated Care board (ICB).  To find out more you can visit their website, www.selondonics.org/icb.

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

Why do I need a Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.

Who can see it?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.

How do I know if I have one?

Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our interactive map or by asking your GP.

Do I have to have one?

No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, please complete our Summary Care Record Opt Out form. 

More information

For further information visit the NHS Care records website